Revelations
by baglady101
Summary: Horatio and the team work a very difficult case involving the murder of an innocent child without the help of Eric, who has left Miami. Surprising revelations surface concerning the case and the relationships of those working to solve it. The characters are Calleigh/Horatio and Alexx/ Frank.
1. Chapter 1

**Revelations**

Horatio sat alone in his office. The sun had set over an hour ago and replaced with flashes of lightning outside of the huge windows that made up one entire wall of the room. It was as if he were unconscious of the fact that wave after wave of severe thunderstorms was rolling through Miami, blowing inland off of the Atlantic.

The weather mimicked his mood, dark and tumultuous. He and the team answered a call-out earlier in the afternoon dealing with a scene involving a drive-by shooting. He was having a difficult time clearing his mind of the images of the innocent victim.

_Earlier that afternoon:_

_After they had arrived at the house where the shooting occurred, it was quickly obvious to him that this crime scene would be difficult. Off to the side, in the front yard of the residence sat a distraught, almost hysterical woman with a detective attempting to garner necessary details of what had happened._

_As he and Calleigh made their way past the uniform officers at the front door, greeted by Frank Tripp inside._

"_H, Calleigh," his voice grim as he greeted both CSIs. "The ah, the vic is down the hall, second door on the right."_

_Horatio nodded his head and led the way. Stepping through the door into the bedroom, his eyes travelled to the small prone body of a child lying in a bed shaped and painted like a race car. His heart sank, and he froze in place, placing his hands on his hips, letting out a strong breath as he bowed his head, slowly shaking it while staring blankly at the floor. _

_Finally, forcing himself to walk the few steps to the bed, he saw the glaring physical evidence with his own eyes. The bullet had entered the left temple of a boy and had exited his head on the opposite side, just above the ear. Behind him, he heard Calleigh let out a small gasp._

"_Oh no," was all she could say as she covered her mouth with a shaky hand._

As he sat on the sofa, recalling the horrible scene that afternoon, he could feel the throbbing increase in intensity behind his eyes, as if his head were in a vise. _I know I alarmed everyone, especially Calleigh, when after seeing the murdered boy, I suddenly couldn't breathe. Like a coward, I pushed past her, and quickly walked out of the house, leaving her to gather evidence. _He absent-mindedly rubbed his forehead, attempting to ease the pain. _I just couldn't bear seeing one more innocent child killed because of scum freely roaming the city, killing at will._

Lost in his troubled thoughts, he failed to hear her enter his office, or call his name. Finally he became aware of somone calling his name, seemingly with an ethereal voice.

Calleigh was now alarmed, not getting an immediate response from her superior; she quickly closed the distance between them startled by haunted, weary blue eyes that gazed up at her.

"Horatio…are you ok?"

Calleigh sat down on the table in front of him.

Outside of the building, a loud boom of thunder shook the glass, followed by a bright bolt of lightning that bathed the entire office with surreal light for a few seconds.

As if coming out from under a trance the deep timbre of his voice asked a question, "Calleigh…" Sweetheart, it's late, why are you still here?"

She watched suspiciously as Horatio sat up and attempted to act like nothing was bothering him, cupping his face with his hands, as if trying to wipe away his bad thoughts.

"I wanted to finish running the striation comparisons against ones on file before I left, so in the morning all I'd have to do would be to run them through the national database. Turns out I can bypass that step."

"They matched one on file?" He asked as he shifted his weight forward and rested his forearms on his knees.

_I wish I didn't have to tell him my results, but I've never withheld information about evidence from him and I'm not going to start now, no matter the consequences._

"They did. I hate to say this, but the bullet taken from the side panel of the boy's bed came from a gun used in another drive-by shooting last year, the Lobo case."

Horatio's painful blue eyes stared blankly at the floor and his lips thinned with anger. Abruptly, he jumped to his feet and stepped over to the large windows, where he stopped at the glass, put his hands on his hips and let out a painful sigh as he hung his head. Calleigh turned and looked at the redhead; his form silhouetted against the flash from the lightning outside and decided to walk to his side to offer what comfort she could.

"I'm sorry that I had to bring you that news; I know how upset you were last year over the results of that case."

Horatio raised his head and watched the downpour revealed by the streetlights below. He turned slightly and softly responded,

"You're just doing your job, unlike me this afternoon. I'm sorry Calleigh for running out on you at the scene today…I…I shouldn't have done that. It's just…suddenly I couldn't breathe. I had to get out of there," his words markedly strained.

She reached out and touched his arm lightly replying, "Hey, I know how it hurts you to find children the victim of crime. You've confronted it so much. Frank helped me with the evidence."

Horatio turned and smiled slightly at his beautiful ballistics expert and answered, "I know it affects you just as badly."

"It affects all of us, but you, you hurt so much more when children are victims."

"Sweetheart…" Calleigh looked up into his eyes answering,

"Yes?"

"Let's both make sure the evidence hangs Lobo this time. There will be no room for error and with a new person coming on board soon, I'd like to ask you to work closely with them and train them in handling the evidence. It's a lot to ask of you and to also cover ballistics too, but there's no one I'd trust more with the job."

"Thank you Horatio. I want to get this monster off the streets as badly as you do; I'll make sure it happens this time." Horatio nodded his head and turned back to the window.

They stood in silence as the storm continued outside for a couple of minutes until Calleigh asked,

"Did you ever eat lunch?"

Horatio grunted and softly answered, "I don't believe I ever did."

"You shouldn't skip meals like that Handsome…"

Horatio turned quickly and interrupted, "Would you like to go get a bite of dinner with me?" _She probably has already made plans, but I just can't face going to my empty house alone just yet. _

"I'd like that," she replied as Horatio smiled.

"I'll follow you to your house and you can leave your car – then we'll go in mine."

"Well, my car's in the shop. I caught a ride with Nat this morning and told her I'd get a taxi home tonight since I was staying after shift."

Horatio smiled, "Perfect, I'll take you home after dinner."

Neither wanted to eat a large meal so late at night; it was around eight-thirty when they arrived at the small Italian café in Miami Beach. They split an order of lasagna, including a salad between them and a bottle of red wine. They made a pact not to discuss anything about the case over dinner._ To her dismay, Horatio never once gave any indication that their evening was anything more than friends sharing dinner. Get a grip girl. He's your superior for goodness sake…you can't expect him to…._Deciding to get her mind off that train of thought she asked,

"Have you heard anything from Eric?"

"He called last night. Told me he'd found a nice condo for sale and would close on it by the end of the month. You miss him, don't you?" Horatio turned and watched her reaction, attempting to gauge her feelings. _She and Eric were close, then something happened and he resigned suddenly. If she were even remotely interested in me, wild horses couldn't drag me away._

"Yeah, it was like a family member moving away…like my kid brother growing up and going out on his own. I just couldn't believe he moved all the way to Los Angeles and joined the PD there."

_Hmm…kid brother! Not the response I expected._

"They have a fine crime lab at LAPD. He'll be a good asset for them." Horatio finally worked up the nerve to ask, "Weren't you…" Calleigh's cell phone rang stopping him from continuing.

"Excuse me Horatio…" Calleigh answered the call while Horatio looked out at the rough waves pushing ashore, listening to the one-sided conversation.

"It'll take me a little time to call a taxi. Could you make sure he stays put until I get there? Thanks so much Patty." Calleigh ended the call.

"I'm sorry Horatio; I need to call a taxi. The bartender over at the Tip Top Club just called and told me my dad is there and is in no condition to leave. I need to go and take him home."

"I'll take you Calleigh, you don't need to call a taxi, besides it would be difficult to get one on a night like this."

Calleigh smiled, "Thank you Horatio, but you don't have to get involved…"

"I want to help, let's go get your Dad and take him home."

Calleigh opened the door of her dad's house as Horatio, with one arm around the man, managed to guide the large Mr. Duquesne through the door, both of them soaking wet.

"Where do you want him Calleigh?"

Her dad turned and looked at Horatio in a drunken stupor and asked, "You…her new…boyfriend?"

"DAD! It's Horatio…he's my boss!" She could feel the blush beginning to surface on her cheeks as she noticed Horatio's grin. "Down the hall, first door on the right," she directed.

"You…like…her?" Calleigh cringed hearing her father talking like that, but she knew she couldn't stop him.

"I do. Now let's get you squared away alright?"

Horatio held the man on his feet with Calleigh's help, while he tugged the wet suit coat off and tossed it on the floor before easing the man down on the bed.

"I'll do that Horatio, you've done enough."

"I don't mind Calleigh. Do you think you need to make him some coffee?" Horatio asked as he slipped her dad's tie off and began unbuttoning his shirt with one hand as he held him upright with the other.

"I usually have it ready for him to turn on in the morning after he gets up. I leave a couple of seltzer tablets and a glass of water on the nightstand for him when he wakes."

"You go take care of that and I'll get him in the bed."

Calleigh smiled as she watched Horatio struggle, "Thank you Handsome." Horatio glanced up; his hair plastered down from being drenched and returned her smile.

A short time later, they stepped outside on the porch and Calleigh locked the front door. Horatio walked to the steps and announced,

"Well, it has finally stopped raining."

"Thank goodness, I just wish it had stopped sooner, you're soaked."

Horatio chuckled, "I don't think there's any danger of me melting."

"Oh, I don't know about that!" Horatio turned his head and looked straight into her eyes, his lips curling into a small smile. She grimaced inwardly as she thought _Oh, if ever there was a time I wanted to take back what I said, it's now! I could just literally pass through the cracks in the floor at this moment. I'm so embarrassed and after what Dad said to him…ohhhhh._

"Let's get you home Sweetheart…it's late."

They rode in silence for the most part as Horatio drove Calleigh to her condo. Once arriving, he wouldn't hear of her walking in alone so, he locked his car and accompanied her up in the elevator to her door.

The entire ride up in the elevator, Calleigh wondered how they would say good-night. After all, it really wasn't a date…far from it considering the chore of retrieving her father.

Stopping at her door, Horatio took the keys from her hand and unlocked it, then pushed it open.

"There you go Sweetheart," he softly said as he handed her keys back.

"Cal…Hor," they both laughed as they began speaking at the same time.

He motioned for her to go first. "Thank you Horatio for dinner and especially helping with my dad…I'm sorry you had to do that and I apologize for what my dad said."

"No worries Calleigh, glad I could help. Call me anytime if you need help again." Pausing for a moment, as he looked into her beautiful emerald eyes and continued,

"Thank you for your company at dinner. You helped take my mind off the case," Horatio tilted his head to the side and smiled. "See you in the morning Sweetheart," and then leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek before turning and walking down the hall to the elevator.

Calleigh stood stunned, unable to move.

The next morning, Calleigh was working on the task of searching databases, trying to gather as much information on Lobo's known contacts and arrest record as possible. She felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw it was Horatio and answered,

"Horatio…yes, I can come up. Be there in a minute."

She ended the call and gathered the papers and put them in a folder and put it in a locked cabinet under the desk before walking out to meet Horatio in the conference room. He'd told her that he wanted the team to meet the new CSI. As she walked to the elevator she thought about how impressed Horatio must have been with the new person to have hired right after the interview.

Walking into the conference room she glanced at the other end of the table and saw Horatio smiling and quietly talking to a dark headed woman. _SHE'S the new CSI?_ Calleigh suddenly felt her heart sink.

Horatio noticed Calleigh enter and motioned for her to join them, "Calleigh, I'd like to introduce you to Aislara Mendoza, our new CSI."

The gorgeous Latino woman stretched out her hand and beckoned, "Please call me Lara. It's nice to meet you Calleigh. I look forward to working with you. Horatio has told me that you and I will be working together."

Calleigh forced a smile, but all she could think of was the meaning of Lara's name – to separate.

**TBC…**


	2. Chapter 2

**Revelations**

**Chapter 2**

Ryan leaned closer to Walter as they entered the conference room and whispered, "Wow, Horatio has a good eye, the scenery around here has definitely improved!"

"Can't say I'll miss Delko…his replacement is a knock-out," Walter responded as his eyes took in the tall, slender brunette while letting out a low whistle.

Natalia rolled her eyes and added, "Hey guys, you can close your mouths now. I'm sure Horatio hired her based on her credentials and abilities, not her physical characteristics."

"Yeah and I can't wait to check out those abilities." Ryan's comment drew a punch in the arm from Natalia causing him to feign hurt, "What?"

Their banter, suddenly interrupted by Horatio as he announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce the newest member of our team, Aislara Mendoza and she asks for us to call her Lara." Then he began introducing each member of the team to the new CSI.

Calleigh sat back in her chair watching as it seemed Horatio was rather enjoying the introductions, staying close to Lara, smiling and laughing even. _There's something I don't like about her, besides the fact that she's almost drooling every time she looks at Horatio._

There was a tap on the glass and Calleigh turned and saw Frank Tripp standing outside the room. He pointed toward Horatio.

Liking nothing better than to get Horatio away from Lara, Calleigh placed her hand on his arm and whispered, "Frank needs to speak to you out in the hall."

Horatio turned away from his conversation with Lara and Ryan and thanked Calleigh before walking out into the hall to meet the detective.

"Francis…"

"Sorry to interrupt H. A patrol unit just called in and said they had eyes on Lobo over on Forteres Street."

"Care to take a ride?" Horatio asked.

"Don't mind if I do. I'd like nothing better than to give that piece of trash a room for the night at the city's expense."

Lobo took off running upon seeing the large Hummer rolling towards him. Horatio manipulated the vehicle, effectively cutting off one direction of escape for the man. Screeching to a stop, the driver's door flew open and Horatio jumped out and began running after the sprinting thug. Closing the distance between him and Lobo, both almost to the other side of the park, Horatio was able to knock him to the ground with a flying tackle, landing hard on top of the man.

"Get off me pig…you got nothing on me," Lobo screamed as his arms flailed about, Horatio wrestled until he successfully snapped the cuffs on one of the struggling man's wrists, finally pinning him down with a knee in the back while he grasped the other arm thrashing around to finish securing the restraints.

Once completed, Horatio jerked Lobo to his feet and growled in his ear, "You're wanted for questioning in a murder."

"I ain't murdered nobody…this is harassment!"

Frank caught up with them, helping Horatio by grabbing Lobo's other arm, and as they began to pull the man toward the Hummer.

Frank growled, "Move damn it," jerking the man forward feeling Lobo's resistance to co-operate.

Horatio and Frank slammed Lobo against the hood of the Hummer, and then Frank proceeded to search the man for weapons, while Horatio stood back catching his breath, bending over his hands placed on his knees.

Frank pulled a small bag out of one of Lobo's pockets and it appeared to contain crack. Holding the evidence up in the air for Horatio to see, Frank smiled as he said,

"Well, well looka here what I found!"

Lobo snarled, "You planted that on me…I didn't…"

"SHUT UP," Frank shouted and snatched Lobo off the hood and then shoved him through the door into the back seat of the Hummer slamming the door shut after him.

Horatio finished knocking off what dirt he could from his dark suit, and proceeded to tuck his shirt back in his pants attempting to look more presentable. Then he felt the stinging at the corner of his mouth. Reaching up and touching the place, he lowered his fingers and saw blood. Cursing silently, _damn Lobo caught the side of my mouth in the scuffle._ He took out his handkerchief and lightly dabbed at the cut.

"You ok?" Frank asked.

"I'm fine, must've gotten hit in the scuffle. No big deal."

The entire ride consisted of them having to listen to their prisoner's tirade about suing them for police harassment until Frank had enough and turned, growling at the man in the back,

"If I hear one more fucking word outa you, I promise we'll make a detour and teach you some manners. NOW KEEP YOUR TRAP SHUT!"

Behind the cover of his sunglasses, Horatio raised his eyebrows at Frank's suggestion and smiled momentarily until he felt the pain at the corner of his mouth.

After arriving at MPD, Horatio pulled Lobo from the elevator and forcibly marched the man to a holding cell. Calleigh and Lara watched from the evidence lab and Calleigh was a little concerned about what had happened when she noticed Horatio looking disheveled. _Oh Handsome, I hope you didn't get hurt._

"Wow," Lara commented, "Does Horatio always bring in criminals himself like this?"

Calleigh turned and replied softly, "Only when it's a special case. And this is a special case as far as Horatio's concerned."

"Speaking of the Lieutenant he's single, right?" Lara asked the CSI in a velvet voice while her eyes remained on Horatio._ Of course I checked that out before coming to the interview, but just to be sure..._

Calleigh whipped her head around to the brunette and wanted to say _no, he's mine, _but instead she replied, "He's a widower. He's had a difficult time since he lost his wife."

"Oh poor man," Lara said continuing in a sexy tone, "He needs a woman to help take his mind off things."

Calleigh could feel her anger rising, threatening to boil to the surface and she had to clench her teeth to stop it from escaping by way of her mouth.

Taking in a deep breath to calm herself she replied, "He is coping. He's received support from all of us."

Calleigh could literally see what Lara was thinking in the way the woman looked at Horatio. _I swear - if you go near him about anything other than work, I'll tear you to pieces. He doesn't need someone who will use him and hurt him even more._

After lunch, Calleigh walked up the stairs to Horatio's office and stopped in the open doorway, noticing that he was sitting at his desk working on reports with glasses on. _He's wearing glasses!_ - _I've never seen him in glasses before!_

Softly she knocked on the door frame as she said, "Knock…knock."

"Hi Sweetheart," greeting her in his deep velvet voice along with a small smile, all that his injury would allow, while he watched Calleigh come in and sit down. He took off his glasses and turned his attention to her.

"How is Lara doing so far?"

"She's catching on very well." Changing the subject she inquired, "Are you alright?"

Horatio tilted his head and looked questioningly at his ballistics expert, "I'm fine Sweetheart it's nothing."

"I, we, uh…Lara and I saw you bring Lobo in earlier…now you have a dark bruise beside your mouth."

Horatio paused before saying, "He gave us a hard time…ran when he saw the Hummer. I had to get physical with him, but I'm ok. I'll probably be sore in the morning though." Shrugging it off, his eyes diverted to the folder she was holding. "You have something for me?"

"Um, oh yeah," Calleigh reigned in her thoughts and got her mind back on work. "I've done some digging into Lobo's contacts and found one that is connected to Ms. Harrison, the mother of the little boy. Her boyfriend served time in the same prison as Lobo a few years ago." She handed the folder across the desk to Horatio.

He slipped on his reading glasses and glanced up to catch Calleigh staring at him. "I lost one of my contacts in the scuffle with Lobo."

"I wasn't aware that you wore contacts."

Horatio chuckled, "Need help reading. Guess it's a combination of age and the amount of paperwork I do."

"Glasses look good on you, make you look distinguished," she smiled. _They actually make you look HOT!_

Horatio smiled, "Thank you Sweetheart."

Finishing the report, he slipped off his glasses and commented, "We need to have a talk with Ms. Harrison. Are you to where you can go with me?"

"Sure. Nat's showing Lara our DNA lab and they plan to run some tests so I think I can leave for a while."

"Thank you for taking Lara on Cal. I know she'll be trained properly after she's spent time with you." Calleigh smiled. _And I've been able to keep an eye on her to boot._

As Horatio drove he asked, "Have you heard from your father today? Is he alright?"

"Oh yes, he called late this morning apologizing yet again for making me come pick him up from a bar. He vaguely remembered a man helping me and asked who it was - when I told him, he wanted me to apologize to you for him. He hated that you had to see him like that."

"It's alright. We all have family that needs our help at times," Horatio responded with a touch of sadness in his voice.

Horatio parked the Hummer in front of the house where Ms. Harrison was staying with her sister. She had told them she'd moved here as she couldn't bear the thought of returning to her own house after what had happened. Horatio understood.

Calleigh knocked on the door and after a minute they heard the lock disengage and watched the door slowly open.

"Shante Moorehead?" Calleigh asked.

A woman's voice replied, "Who wants to know?"

"Shante, I'm CSI Calleigh Duquesne and this is Lieutenant Horatio Caine. We need to speak to your sister Fannie." Calleigh and Horatio both held their badges up where the woman could see them.

The door gradually opened more and a woman who looked in her mid-fifties stepped out. "My sister's in grief. She can't answer no more questions."

Horatio spoke up, "I understand. We're all saddened by your horrible loss, but it's important we talk with her for a few minutes. We have some new information that might help us convict the person responsible for murdering her son." The woman shook her head in understanding and opened the door wide for them to enter. Horatio motioned for Calleigh to go in first.

The sister led them to a bedroom in the rear of the house where she announced the visitors to her sister.

"Fannie, they need to just ask you a few questions. You need to help them. They are working on finding the one responsible for killing little Johnny." Horatio hung his head, observing the grief-stricken woman propped up in bed.

He stood close to the bed as Calleigh sat down on the edge and gingerly picked up the large African-American woman's hand that was lying lifeless beside her before beginning,

"Hi Fannie, I'm Calleigh and this is Lieutenant Caine. We are working hard on finding the person responsible for killing your son, but we need your help to clarify some information. Do you feel up to answering just a few questions?"

The distraught woman's eyes met Horatio's and she could sense the pain he was holding inside. "You…you were there yesterday, weren't you?"

"Yes ma'am we both were," Horatio answered softly. He went on to ask, "Have you seen… Ricardo Jimmerson, lately?"

"Ricardo? I kicked his sorry ass out a week ago…told him to leave my Johnny and me alone. I found him messing with drugs; and he'd started bringing trashy looking men to my house with their whores, told him I wasn't going to put up with that shit." She drew in a sharp breath before asking, "Oh Lord, could he have done this to my Johnny?" She looked desperately at the two CSIs as the first tear escaped down her cheek before a cascade of uncontrollable tears followed.

Horatio looked down at Calleigh as her eyes met his and he swallowed hard, giving the woman a few minutes to get herself under control. He signaled Calleigh with a nod of his head to follow him out into the hallway.

"Would you mind searching the database from your phone and look up Ricardo? We need her to ID him and I don't think we'll be able to get her to come down to the station to do that."

"Sure. Give me a minute." Calleigh began the connection and in a few minutes she had the most recent picture from an arrest report on the screen of her phone.

She and Horatio walked back into the bedroom after Fannie had calmed down.

"Ms. Harrison, is this the Ricardo you know?" Horatio asked as he held out the phone for her to see.

She took the phone into her hand and looked at the man responding, "It is. That's Ricardo Jimmerson." She handed the phone back to him. "You gonna arrest him aren't you?" she asked with a hint of hope within her shaky voice.

Horatio straightened up, letting out a noticeable breath as he did so and replied, "We will find him and pick him up for questioning. If evidence surfaces, that ties him to the shooting, yes I will arrest him personally and make sure he receives the maximum punishment."

"Thank you Lieutenant, Ms. Calleigh. You put that trash where he belongs." She pleaded as her tears began to flow once more.

As they were driving back to the lab, Horatio's cell phone signaled an incoming call. He answered, "Caine."

"Horatio, Tom here. I've found something interesting that I missed earlier in my post on the boy. Can you come down to the morgue?"

"Tom, Calleigh and I are about ten minutes from the lab. We'll make you our first stop."

Ending the call, he gave Calleigh a quick glance, "Tom found something from the boy's wound that he missed earlier. It'll be interesting to see what it could be." Calleigh nodded.

As Horatio drove, his thoughts drifted back a year, almost to the day when Alexx told him she was leaving.

_Alexx Woods was the M.E. when I first arrived at Miami PD. She took me under her wing so to speak, inviting me to all of her family's special occasions and usually for every Sunday dinner, when I wasn't working._

_I'll never forget that day she called me down to the morgue where she broke the news to me in private. Told me she had to resign. Her reason for leaving had nothing to do with anyone there; she said it had to do with her…her family. I remember she mentioned how she needed to spend more time with the living instead of the dead. Her family needed her to work more stable hours._

_Her news had been a blow, then..I couldn't imagine the lab without her, but I understood her reasons. Now, I'm glad she made that decision when she did. It gave her and her husband Henry more time together before his untimely death in that horrible car accident six months ago. Now, she recently accepted a position as an ER doctor at Miami-Dade General hospital, working the day shift allowing her to be at home with her teenaged son at night._

_So much has changed in this past year. Alexx left first; then Yelina and Ray, Jr. moved to Brazil; Eric, still having problems coping with the loss of his sister, my wife Marisol, left Miami for L.A. and I doubt seriously he'll ever return._

Suddenly hearing a horn blow, Horatio snapped out of his thoughts and realized the light had turned green and an irate driver behind them was signaling that it was time to move. Chuckling, Horatio gave the Hummer gas and left the man in his dust.

"Thinking about the case?"

"Um, no actually I was thinking about all the changes that have occurred with people associated with the lab in the last year."

"Yeah, there have been a few."

Horatio looked over at Calleigh as he turned into the parking lot of the lab and said, "But you haven't changed. I know I can always depend on you."

Calleigh smiled, "I plan to be here for you Horatio."

Horatio paused as he shifted the Hummer into park and killed the engine before looking over at her again, "Thank you. That means a lot to me." He hesitated longer than he should, but for some reason he couldn't look away, she captivated his attention with her radiant smile.

Finally he nervously cleared his throat and said, "Let's go see what Tom found shall we?"

Horatio held the door open allowing Calleigh to walk through and then they both made their way to where Tom Lohman, the current medical examiner, was standing by the autopsy table.

"Ah, my favorite investigators," Tom greeted as the pair approached.

"What have you found for us Tom?" Horatio inquired, not in any mood to deal with the man's eccentric quirks at the moment.

Holding up a slide that contained the evidence, he placed it in the clip under the microscope lens with a little flair.

"I found a sliver of latex, with a human hair attached to tissue just inside the entrance wound of the boy's head."

Horatio looked puzzled, but leaned down and looked through the eyepiece. Under the glass there was indeed a tiny piece of latex and he could see the hair clearly. Raising his head and stepping back, he allowed Calleigh to view the new evidence.

"That's enough material to give us DNA samples," Calleigh assured as she turned back and looked at Horatio with excitement evident in her voice.

Tom squeezed his eyes closed and said, "_Yes,_" as he pumped his fist up and down.

"Um-hum, let's get that upstairs to the lab please," Horatio responded with a slight smile.

**TBC…**


	3. Chapter 3

**Revelations**

**Chapter 3**

Natalia slipped the slide under the clip of the high-powered comparison microscope in the DNA lab as Lara stood next to the counter anticipating the opportunity to view the new evidence as well. Calleigh waited for Natalia's opinion of the evidence and it's ability to link the bullet to the possible killer.

"Tom is right. That's definitely a human hair, we can lift good DNA from this" Natalia assured.

"Can you set aside your other cases and make this high priority?" Calleigh asked, knowing Horatio would like to have it processed immediately.

"Sure. Lara can even help me. You know, she's a quick learner and she's good! Did you know she was the highest rated fingerprint and DNA forensics investigator in New Mexico and even taught at UNM?"

Inwardly Calleigh cringed with the news. _No wonder Horatio hired her on the spot. He's always wanted only the top people in their field on his team._

"Now Nat," Lara began smiling, "don't go bragging on me like that. You know what will happen…I'll start making mistakes trying to live up to my reputation."

Natalia stepped aside and let Lara look at the piece of latex magnified. As Lara examined the sliver of rubber she exclaimed, "Oh yeah, that's enough to give us a good DNA profile."

"Ladies…" Horatio greeted as he breezed through the door. "How's it coming?"

"We can lift some good DNA samples from this evidence Horatio," Lara smiled sweetly at the redhead, "probably will have the results before the end of shift today."

"Thank you Lara, Natalia. I appreciate your attention on this. Hopefully, the results will tell us who handled the bullet that killed Johnny Harrison." He then turned his attention to Calleigh, "Sweetheart, may I speak to you out in the hall for a moment please?"

"Sure Horatio," Calleigh glanced over at Lara and gave her a smile as she began to walk toward the door with Horatio following close behind.

Once out in the hallway Calleigh stopped as she turned toward Horatio asking, "What can I do for you Handsome?"

Taken aback by her question, Horatio hesitated briefly, _what a loaded question! ... Alright Caine, get your mind out of the gutter._

Taking a deep breath as he looked over her and down the hall for a few seconds before returning his gaze to her, with his thoughts focusing once again on the case he asked,

"Um, I'd like for you to search all records in the database about Jimmerson, arrests, known contacts, family, etc. I also wanted to let you know that patrol located Ricardo in North Miami. I requested them to back off and assign a couple of undercover officers to tail him for a while, record contacts, and where he tends to spend most of his time."

"Smart move, we can gain more evidence this way as opposed to bringing him in for questioning."

"I'll check back with you later and get an update on that latex. Meanwhile, I'm going to do a follow-up interview with the neighbors across the street from Ms. Harrison. I think they may have seen more than they first let on." Horatio turned and walked toward the elevator, his mind already going over the questions he wanted answers for.

Later that evening, Horatio walked through the door of his quiet and empty condo, having determined on his drive home that he needed rest more than dinner so he began undressing while walking down the hall to the master bedroom. His tired, aching body welcomed the feel of the soft bed as his skin touched the cool sheets, even though feeling exhausted, sleep evaded him for a couple of hours until he finally drifted off around one-thirty.

An irritating buzzing sound gradually woke him from a deep sleep. Rolling over, half awake, his sleepy eyes gradually focused on the red LED numbers displayed on the clock beside his bed, showing him that it was three fifteen in the morning. Then he finally realized the sound was his cell phone vibrating against the top of the wood nightstand.

Reaching out with one hand, he grasped the phone and answered in a rough, groggy voice, "Caine."

"Horatio…I'm sorry to call you in the night but…"

Horatio suddenly jerked into an upright position and softly responded, "Alexx…what's going on?"

He could hear her trembling voice clearer now that his senses had abruptly awakened with the realization that something was terribly wrong for her to be calling at this time of the night.

"Horatio...Brian hasn't come home yet…I…I don't know what to do. I woke up and he's not here…."

Horatio hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose before he asked, "Alexx…couldn't he just have forgotten the time? You know…being out with friends…"

"No Horatio…Brian has an important test at school tomorrow morning…he…oh, Horatio, something's not right."

"Give me thirty minutes Alexx."

"Horatio…thank you."

Exactly thirty minutes later, Horatio rang Alexx's doorbell. Showered and clean-shaven, dressed as if for work, Horatio looked up as the door opened.

"Alexx…" The pain he saw in her face, immediately worried him.

"Thank you Horatio for coming. Without Henry, I didn't know what to do."

Horatio gave her a friendly hug as he whispered, "It's alright Alexx. Anytime you need me, I'll be here."

Her voice cracking from the emotional turmoil that flooded her mind, she struggled to control her tears as she managed a soft, "Thank you Horatio," and then clung to him as if he were a lifeline.

"You need to sit down Alexx," feeling her body quivering in his arms, Horatio shut the door behind them. Keeping his arm around her shoulders as he led her to the couch.

Alexx shook her head back and forth before placing her hand on her forehead as she hung her head attempting to reign in her emotions.

"I'm sorry Horatio…I shouldn't have bothered you in the middle of the night, but I'm scared…scared that something bad has happened to my baby. I can't lose Brian…I just can't…not after Henry."

Horatio reached out and took her hand in his and then swallowed hard before responding, "Alexx, you know I'm always here for you." He knew it would be difficult, but he had to ask, "Do you want me to call the hospitals and ask if they…"

"I've already called them," Alexx quickly answered, cutting him off, "No one by the name of Brian Woods was at any of them."

Horatio, still holding Alexx's hand then asked her, "Do you know the places where he hangs out, I could get a patrol unit to check and see if…"

The sound of a key turning in the lock of the door startled both of them into silence. Horatio turned and watched along with Alexx as the door slowly opened revealing Brian.

Alexx leapt from the couch and ran to her son, stopping just in front of him. "Brian…honey, where on earth have you been? I've been worried sick about you…I even got Horatio out in the middle of the night."

Horatio stood and watched as Alexx confronted her son, intrigued as to where the young man had been until this hour of the morning himself.

Brian hung his head, "Mama, you shouldn't have bothered Uncle Horatio…I'm a big boy now. I don't need a nursemaid checking on me."

Alexx shot back, suddenly angry at her son's flippant attitude admonishing, "Brian Woods you are seventeen…which means you're still a minor and you know you're not allowed out this late at night. Where have you been?"

Scowling at his mother as he brushed past her, Horatio stiffened as the young man approached, with Alexx close behind.

"Brian…I asked you where you've been all this time!"

Spinning around so suddenly it startled Alexx, Brian answered through gritted teeth, "It's none of your business Mama – now get off my back!"

"Brian…" Horatio began, but abruptly stopped after the young man responded by turning around with a clenched fist, with the wish to strike the Lieutenant written clearly across his face.

Alexx snapped, "Brian…NO!"

The young man fought the urge to lash out and then stormed off toward the hallway leading to his room.

Alexx stood in total shock and confusion watching the actions of her son. Suddenly she felt as if she didn't even know him. Horatio turned back toward her after watching Brian angrily walk away and was just about to say something when all hell broke loose.

Glass from breaking windows flew across the room as Horatio immediately reached out and shoved Alexx to the floor, following her down, shielding her from the bullets and glass fragments as the automatic rifle fire riddled the front of the house, chewing up everything in the room. The bullets tore through the large glass windows and into the backs of chairs as well as a sofa, ripping the material to shreds. Vases, lamps and pictures on tables exploded for seemingly for several minutes before finally coming to an end.

Brian raced back into the room, not immediately seeing his mother; he began screaming in a frantic voice when his eyes fell on her and Horatio lying on the floor, "MAMA…ARE YOU HURT? UNCLE HORATIO?"

Through the cloud of smoke and stuffing from pillows still floating in the air, Horatio coughed and cautiously pushed up on his knees with his service weapon in his hand, looking down at Alexx slowly beginning to move.

"Alexx…you ok Sweetheart?"

Brian fell to his knees beside his mother. "Mama…you alright?"

Alexx, pushed herself up into a sitting position and both Brian and Horatio saw the blood running down the side of her face from her temple, but Horatio saw the early stages of shock coming on as well.

"Mama…you've been hurt." Brian cried as he reached out and lightly touched her face.

Horatio leaned down closer and gently turned her face to the side so he could look at the wound.

"Looks like you have a piece of glass embedded in the side of your head Alexx," not able to disguise his concern as she looked up at him. "I need to call the paramedics." Horatio pulled his cell phone from inside the breast pocket of his jacket and keyed in 911 as he leaned against the back of an upholstered chair.

Within just a few minutes, blue lights could be seen flashing through the windows from the police cars which were lighting up the residential street in front of the Alexx's home. Paramedics were already examining Alexx's wound as she sat on a gurney while a distraught Brian sat close by with tears trailing down his cheeks watching the medics help his mother.

Horatio was standing by, looking on in concern when he heard a voice beside him say,

"Lieutenant, I need to examine you as well. I can see some cuts on the back of your neck and you could have embedded glass in your body."

Horatio thanked the young man and had just finished responding that he was fine when Captain Jenkins walked up and reinforced the paramedic's statement.

"Horatio, you need to let them look at you. You can't run around finding out who did this if glass is sticking into your hide!"

The paramedic led Horatio to another gurney and asked him to remove his jacket and shirt. Wincing as he pulled his t-shirt off over his head, he felt a sharp sting in his right side. He attempted to twist around to get a better look, but the paramedic noticed his reaction and stopped him.

After examining the wound, the young man said, "You have a good size piece of glass embedded in the side of your chest, but I think we can remedy this here without transporting you to the ER."

"I'd appreciate that."

The piece of glass removed, the paramedic completed the minor surgery by putting a few stitches in to close up the wound and warned Horatio to consult a doctor if he detected redness, swelling or discolored fluid oozing from the wound. He gave him an antibacterial ointment to apply to the cut and said,

"The stitches will dissolve in a few days, but that area will be sore for a while, just try not to make any moves that would tear the stitches out…you'll pull the wound open if that were to happen."

"Thanks, I'll try to remember that. How is Dr. Woods?"

The paramedic was about to respond when a loud, deep voice called out,

"Horatio…what in the hell happened here?"

Frank quickly closed the distance, stepping over broken glass and debris to join his friend sitting on the gurney, then abruptly stopped and looked concerned when he saw Alexx lying down on another gurney with paramedics working to prepare her for transport.

Horatio looked up with weary blue eyes as he acknowledged Frank Tripp.

"Francis…all I can tell you is it was a drive-by shooting. Alexx caught a large piece of glass in her temple. I just have a few cuts," he replied as he stood and began buttoning his shirt.

"Damn…you sure you're ok?" Frank was all too familiar with Horatio's habit of dismissing injury to himself.

Horatio raised his eyebrows, and then tilted his head slightly before assuring Frank, "I'm fine. By the way…" Horatio paused before asking, "Since when do you work both day and night shift?"

Frank hem-hawed around a little before turning the tables responding, "I could ask you the same thing, although it'd be nothing new for you." Horatio smiled slightly at that comment. "Jenkins called me, knowing I'm friends with Alexx and told me a shooting had occurred at her house and with her being alone and all that I…"

Horatio nodded his head then quietly commented, "Alexx called me earlier because Brian had not come home. Not long after the young man showed up, this happened. I think there's something going on that Brian needs to tell me, but first I'm going see about Alexx."

Frank added, "I'm going with you."

**TBC…**


	4. Chapter 4

**Revelations**

**Chapter 4**

Satisfied that Alexx would be alright with rest and a little time, Horatio left her hospital room after the painkiller had taken effect causing her to drift off to sleep. As he slipped out the door, he met Frank in the hallway returning with a couple of cups of coffee. Horatio accepted the cup Frank held out to him and then responded,

"Thanks for the coffee my friend, but I'm leaving for the lab and hopefully find a lead as to who did this and why. Alexx is resting; the doctor just left and he assured me she will be fine."

"Uh, ok…I think I'll just hang around here for a while. You know, whoever did this, might show up here."

Horatio smiled, "See you later then."

* * *

Lara walked into the break room and smiled. _Seems Horatio likes to get an early start._ Quietly walking over to the coffee pot, so as not to wake the Lieutenant, she poured herself a mug of the dark, steaming hot liquid before making her way to the couch where he was resting his head against the back. Easing down close beside him, she lightly touched his knee causing him to bolt upright. The movement startled the Latino woman and she almost lost her grip on her mug of coffee.

Horatio moaned as his hand pressed on his right side and for a moment, Lara wondered what was wrong. She reached over and placed her hand on his left arm and with a hint of embarrassment evident in her voice she asked,

"Oh Horatio…I'm so sorry to have startled you. Are you ok?"

Calleigh approached the door to the break room and instantly stopped at the sight of Lara and Horatio on the couch. Anger immediately flowed through her as her fists clenched…_that little vixen…brazenly going after Horatio in the lab! Well, we'll just see about this._

Calleigh pushed the door open hard and silently marched to the coffee pot, deliberately keeping her eyes fixed straight ahead, purposely avoiding Lara and Horatio.

Lara turned around and called out, "Oh, good morning Calleigh. Horatio and I were just enjoying a cup of coffee before shift begins."

With her cup in hand, Calleigh turned and acknowledged the woman coldly as she snapped, "That's obvious, please don't let me interrupt," then exited the room.

Horatio called out, "Calleigh…" but the blonde CSI didn't even hesitate and continued out the door.

He hung his head, still holding his side with his left hand, while bringing his right hand up to his forehead as he propped his elbow on his knee. _I need to go explain that this isn't what it looks like._

Horatio abruptly moved and stood, "I need to go. Enjoy your coffee Lara. By the way, I'm calling a meeting of the team at ten in the conference room. We need to look at and compare evidence results in the case so far and discuss what we need to do beyond this point." Lara watched with disappointment as Horatio left her.

He walked over and poured another mug of coffee to take with him before walking out. His intended first stop, before going to his office, would be the ballistics lab. _Calleigh needs to know what happened at Alexx's and I need to see if I can find out what just happened here; why she would act like this._ Then he smiled, _could she be jealous?_

He had only walked a short distance down the hall when he heard someone call him from the opposite end of the hallway, "Lieutenant…"

Horatio stopped and waited for the officer to catch up to him. "What can I do for you Roberts?"

The undercover officer held up a folder in his hand as he asked, "Is there somewhere private we can talk?"

Horatio studied the officer and answered, "My office." Both men turned and walked toward the stairs leading to Horatio's office. Once inside and the door closed behind them, Horatio walked around and sat down behind his desk after motioning the man toward a chair to the side as he sat his coffee down.

"I have some evidence here that I wanted you to see first before anyone else," Roberts announced as he pulled photos from inside the folder and placed them on the desk in front of Horatio. "I think you'll recognize someone in the picture with Ricardo."

Horatio picked the photograph up off his desk and stared in disbelief at who the camera had caught. _I can't believe this._ Horatio dropped the picture back on his desk as his lips thinned and he closed his eyes before placing both hands on his forehead, with his elbows on the desktop as he cupped his face while staring down at the evidence.

"You can see why I thought you should be the first to view this evidence."

Horatio softly cursed. "His mother doesn't need this now." Looking up into the sympathetic eyes of the officer, Horatio inquired, "Can I keep these for a while?"

"Sure, but I wouldn't hold them too long…you know how that might be perceived in court." Roberts hesitated after he stood. "I'll let myself out." The man walked to the door and looked back at before exiting, leaving Horatio deep in thought.

Horatio leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. _I'm going to need to be careful how I handle this situation. _Finally making up his mind to go directly to the source, he walked out of his office and headed to his Hummer parked outside. _Calleigh will just have to wait…I need answers about this new evidence and I need them now._ Pushing a speed dial button on his phone, he connected with Ryan.

"Mr. Wolfe, would you please tell Lara that the meeting I planned to hold this morning is delayed. Something concerning our case has come up and I'm going to be in the field following up on it."

"Sure H. I'll find her as soon as we hang up."

"Thanks."

After the call ended, Ryan looked puzzled. _I wonder why H called me instead of Calleigh._ Then a smile broke out on the young CSI's face, _but hey, this is certainly one favor I don't mind doing at all!_

Horatio knocked on the hospital room's door and waited a moment before entering. To his surprise, he heard Alexx's voice telling him to come in.

As he walked in, he smiled. Relieved that he saw Alexx propped up against pillows in the bed with a large bandage on the side of her head smiling. Frank was sitting in a chair close to the side.

"Hey Alexx…you're looking a lot better than earlier this morning," Horatio softly said as he leaned over and lightly kissed her cheek, keenly aware of Frank's eyes following him.

Horatio couldn't help teasing Frank, so he turned toward the big detective and asked, "Any desperadoes show up since I've been gone Francis?"

Frank scrunched his face up as a child would do in response to the tease before verbally confirming, "Not so far, but you never know." Horatio smiled broadly.

"How are you feeling Sweetheart?" Horatio asked as he squeezed Alexx's hand.

Alexx chuckled softly and answered, "A lot better than I would have if you hadn't pushed me to the floor…thank you Horatio. Did you get hurt?"

"Only a few scratches, no big deal."

"Um-hum," Alexx responded, "Then explain why I saw a paramedic sewing up a wound on your side?"

Horatio chuckled as he looked down and then back up into her dark brown eyes, "It's nothing Alexx I'm fine." Changing the subject Horatio asked, "Did Brian go to school today?" Noticing the young man was not in the room.

Alexx shifted to get more comfortable, the pain in her head beginning to return since the painkillers had begun wearing off.

"He went to one class to take that test, and then he was going by our house to pick me up a change of clothes. Why do you ask?"

Horatio glanced over at the window, taking in a deep breath before he turned back to Alexx as he answered, "I need…I need to ask him a few questions. That's all."

Alexx, stunned by his statement hesitantly asked, "What sort of questions Horatio?"

Horatio looked down at the folder in his hand, and then straightened his stance, nervously pushing his coat back as he placed his left hand momentarily on his badge. Frank could sense Horatio was reluctant to tell Alexx what was behind his reason to question Brian, and so could Alexx.

Horatio finally responded, "Just…just routine questions Alexx. I want to find out who did this to you and damaged your house this morning. Brian might be able to give us some clues."

Alexx quickly replied, "Horatio, my son does not associate with people who would do anything like this."

Horatio nodded his head before commenting, "I would like to think not, but I need to rule out that possibility."

* * *

Calleigh sat at the microscope in the ballistics lab struggling to maintain her focus on the bullets brought in from the shooting at Alexx's house. _If I hadn't been such an idiot, running out of the break room as I did, I'm sure Horatio would have told me about what happened last night. _She sat back and covered her face with both hands, fighting the urge to allow the tears that welled in her eyes to spill out. _I read the police report. It said both Alexx and Horatio had been hurt in the drive-by shooting…_

_As soon as I finish with these, I'm going to call Alexx at the hospital then, find Horatio and apologize for my behavior._ She wiped the tears from her eyes before returning her attention to her comparisons.

Upstairs in the evidence lab, Lara was finishing her last fingerprinting tests on the bullets from the drive-by at the Wood's residence before they would be taken to the ballistics lab. _Seems Calleigh might have feelings for our Lieutenant, judging by her reaction this morning. Well, I have news for her – she's had her chance…I'll show him what a REAL woman can do for him. _Lara smiled, _this could get very interesting!_

* * *

As Horatio drove towards Alexx's house, his phone vibrated in his coat pocket. He pulled it out while stopped at a traffic light and answered.

"Lieutenant Caine," the caller began, "we…uh, we've lost Ricardo. I don't know how in the hell he did it, but he's gone. He must have made us."

Horatio stared at the traffic for a few seconds, his mind racing. _Who would Ricardo suspect gave him up?_ Then the sudden realization hit him hard, there were _two_ possibilities – _BRIAN and FANNIE HARRISON! _

Horatio ended the call with the undercover officer and then quickly called patrol to cover Fannie and her sister Shante, while he made a U-turn and turned on the Hummer's lights and sirens as he pushed the large vehicle to its limits towards Alexx's house. He quickly managed to place a call to the school and found that Brian had left.

The next call he made as he weaved through the heavy traffic was to Calleigh. She answered on the second ring,

"Horatio…where are you?" She could hear the roar of an engine in the background with a siren blaring.

"Calleigh, I need back-up at Alexx's house. I'm on my way there now. Officers lost Ricardo and I feel he's going after who he thinks could have put the police on him and I don't have time to explain now, but Brian Woods is a possibility along with Ms. Harrison. I've already got officers covering her and her sister."

As Calleigh ran down the hall, she stuck her head in the DNA lab and moved her phone from her mouth shouting, "Let's roll. Horatio needs back-up at Alexx's."

Ryan, Natalia and Walter quickly shrugged out of their lab coats and followed Calleigh to their Hummers, while Lara stayed in the lab. She could not take part in field work, having not yet earned firearm certification.

As Calleigh and the others started running toward the Hummers she pleaded, "We're on our way Horatio. Wait until we get there. _Please _don't go in alone."

"I'm almost there; see you in a few minutes Sweetheart."

**TBC…**


	5. Chapter 5

**Revelations**

**Chapter 5**

Brian's back slammed into the wall, effectively knocking the air from his lungs and in front of him, stood an angry Ricardo who sneered as two large, muscular men kept the young man pinned.

"You been talking to _the man_ punk…you been 'round long enough to know what that gets you."

Gasping for air, Brian tried to assure the angry Latino that he hadn't, "I…I haven't…talked…"

The other man's fist moved so fast that Brian didn't have time to prepare for the blow to his mid-section which caused him to double over struggling to fight the strong urge to vomit his stomach contents on Ricardo's shoes.

"DON'T LIE TO ME," Ricardo screamed. "My men saw Caine come here last night…he didn't make no middle of the night visit to yo Mama's for nothing."

Brian slowly straightened and stared disbelieving into the angry, slim face. "You…you had our house shot up? My…my mom was hurt…"

Ricardo snarled as he grabbed Brian's shirt at the neck and pulled the boy's face close to his own, "Worse will happen if you continue to rub elbows with Caine…I promise."

"My mom called him…she was concerned about where I was…that's all."

"Listen kid, if you are a part of _my_ family…you have to learn that I don't accept excuses. 'It is what it is' - that's my motto."

Horatio took the last corner at the highest speed he dared in the cumbersome vehicle and as Alexx's house came into view he began to slow the Hummer's speed after seeing Brian's car in the drive. _This is certainly a relief; Brian could have easily gone somewhere else after leaving the school. The teacher said he'd been gone from the exam for about fifteen minutes and all I could hope was that he'd headed here to retrieve the clothes for his mother._

Horatio eased the Hummer to the curb. Slowly, he slid from the driver's seat to stand a moment on the pavement to scan the area from behind his sunglasses. Not readily seeing anyone around, he stealthily made his way to the porch of the Wood's residence, his service weapon in his right hand, pointed down at the ground. _After seeing that picture of Brian with Ricardo, I don't know what to expect._

He quickly glanced through the slim window beside the front door, but didn't see any movement.

* * *

Calleigh drove the Hummer at top speed as Walter hung on to what they called the 'sissy bar' above the passenger door.

"H said he'd wait on us didn't he?"

Calleigh continued watching the heavy traffic as she weaved around vehicles on the expressway, glancing in the rear view mirror making sure Natalia and Ryan were keeping up.

"Since when has he ever done that? All I know is that we need to get there as soon as we can."

Walter's expression reflected concern as he silently thought, _in the length of time I've been on the team; I've always been alarmed about how Horatio puts himself out in front…seemingly not caring about his own safety. I have no doubt he's doing the same at Alexx's._

* * *

Pressed against the house on one side of the front door, Horatio pulled his sunglasses off, slipped them into his suit coat breast pocket and then slid the safety off on his 9mm Sig Sauer. The front door, he had noticed, was slightly ajar; a bad sign. He eased the door open, listening for any sound of movement as he quietly stepped inside. He kept his back to the wall, his head tilted to the right, sighting the gun out in front of him while holding it with both hands, his ears still sharply attuned to his surroundings as he crept into the foyer.

Suddenly he heard a noise from the kitchen area that made him flinch. He quickly stepped to the archway at the beginning of the hall leading to the kitchen and dining area. Warily, he immediately turned and pointed his gun into the first room on the left; the library. Satisfied the room was empty; he then made his way down the hall toward the kitchen.

Then his ears picked up a ragged moan coming from inside the room along with an angry voice. He eased to the side of the opening, barely leaning out for a quick look and caught sight of Brian standing against the wall with a slender, angry Latino man in his face._ Ricardo!_

Horatio took a deep breath and then stepped through the opening with his gun aimed right at Ricardo as he shouted, "MIAMI-DADE POLICE…HANDS IN THE AIR WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!"

He saw the movement on his right a second too late to counter the blow that landed in his side, below his ribs and another that landed at the base of his neck, which succeeded in knocking him to the floor.

Ricardo snarled at Brian, "I see you near this pig again and next time, I won't miss taking your mother out…UNDERSTAND?"

The man's words shook Brian to his core. Then Ricardo walked over to the redhead, intending to take his gun and kick him in the side when he heard vehicles stop outside and the sound of footsteps running across the porch. He turned and ordered his men to follow him out the back. Horatio, realizing he was in a vulnerable position, gripped his weapon tightly and began struggling to clear his head and push up off the floor when he heard Calleigh shout,

"HORATIO!…"

Calleigh ran and dropped to her knees beside the wobbly redhead and grabbed his arm, wrapping her other arm around his back to keep him from falling face down on the floor.

"I'm…I'm ok Cal," responding to her touch in a rough voice. "Ricardo…he and two men, um…ran out the back. They left…right before you got here." Walter, Ryan and Natalia heard this and ran past them out the back of the house to give chase.

Horatio turned and sat down hard on the floor against the wall as he leaned back waiting for his vision to improve. Then he felt a stinging in his right side with his labored breathing.

"Horatio you are not alright…you're bleeding!" Calleigh saw the red spot on his shirt.

He breathlessly responded, "Calleigh…I just pulled a few stiches out. That's all."

Walter returned first and made his way over to Horatio, "H, they…got away," pausing to catch his breath, "they made it to a car parked on the…side street. We put out a BOLO…got a partial tag number." Walter noticed the shaken appearance of his boss. "You OK?"

Horatio felt like he could now stand and raised his hand toward Walter to help him up.

"Walter I'm good. If you'll just help me up please…"

The big man grabbed Horatio's hand and forearm and instantly pulled him to his feet, so quickly that it made the room swim for a few moments for the Lieutenant. Holding Walter's arm for a minute longer caused the CSI to ask,

"H…you sure you're ok? You're bleeding on the right side of your chest. Did you get shot?" Walter's voice sounding more alarmed.

"No…just pulled a few stitches out from where I caught a piece of glass this morning at Alexx's."

Horatio then looked over at Brian who was silently standing a few feet away, looking down at the floor, unable to look Horatio in the eye. Then Ryan and Natalia came back in and joined them as Ryan was speaking to patrol via his cell phone and then ended the call before recounting what they saw to Horatio.

Horatio began, "Walter, would you help Brian get some clothes for his mother please, and then take him to the hospital? Stay with him and then take him to the lab and hold him, I might be a couple of hours, but I need answers to a few questions," Horatio then turned and looked at Calleigh before returning his attention to Walter. "I'll ride with Calleigh." She raised her eyebrows with that statement.

"Sure H. Is the kid under arrest?"

"No, just hold him please."

Walter nodded and then walked over to Brian and motioned for the young man to lead the way to get the clothes.

"Mr. Wolfe, you and Miss Boa Vista head back to the lab and continue with your work, I'm going to get cleaned up."

"Will do H."

* * *

A little later, Horatio walked out of the trauma suites after having had the wound re-sutured and found where Calleigh was waiting for him. She stood as he approached and asked,

"Everything alright?"

"Um, everything's fine," searching her eyes he finished, "Now I need to get a fresh shirt. Would you mind if we stop by my place?"

"Not at all," Calleigh answered with a smile. Horatio returned her smile.

Unlocking the door of his condo, he stepped aside allowing Calleigh to enter first.

"I'll just be a minute Sweetheart. Make yourself comfortable."

Calleigh walked into the beautifully appointed living area, noticing pictures placed around the room. A few were of Marisol as she expected, and then she noticed a table holding several pictures and walked over to them. She picked up one picture of the team taken at a beach bar-b-q last year when they celebrated Horatio's birthday. She had the same picture in her condo, but suddenly she noticed other pictures Horatio had included in the same grouping as well as in a bookcase against the wall. In all of them, Horatio was behind her or beside her. _I've never noticed that before, although I only have two pictures of the team together._

"We've had some good times, haven't we?"

Horatio's sudden, deep voice coming from behind caused her to jump.

"Oh, um I was just looking at your photos and…" Calleigh put the picture back down on the table.

"I apologize for startling you," Horatio said softly.

Embarrassed by her reaction she answered mutely, "That's ok."

"Sweetheart, please, let's sit down for a minute." Horatio took her hand and led her to the sofa, while he sat down directly in front of her on the coffee table.

Both sat for a minute in silence, while Horatio stared down at his hands as he leaned forward, with his arms propped on his knees, wondering how he should begin to address what was on his mind.

"Calleigh…"

* * *

Brian pushed the room's door open and found his mother sitting up on the side of the bed. The big detective was still with her and it seemed to Brian that his sudden appearance was interrupting their conversation._ Why is that guy staying here with mama? Surely she…he…please God don't let this be happening. I'm in enough trouble as it is because of Uncle Horatio…I sure don't need another cop added to the mix. Ricardo will be furious…no telling what he might do._

Alexx turned and smiled at her two visitors, "Nice to see you again Walter. Brian honey…thank you for bringing me some clothes. Doctor Shaprio just left and said I was free to leave…"

Frank spoke up, "Alexx, both of you could stay at my place. It ain't much, but you'd be safe there. I can sleep on the couch…Lord knows I've done it before…."

Alexx reached out and squeezed Frank's hand, "Thank you Frank, I appreciate the offer, but Calleigh called earlier when you were out on a break and offered for us to stay at her place. I accepted her offer."

"Alexx…"

"Excuse us Brian and Walter…" she looked pensively at the tall young CSI.

"Uncle Horatio wants to talk to me down at the lab so, I could go get that over with."

Alexx looked intently at her son and told him, "You tell Horatio the truth, that you don't know anyone who could have done this to us." Brian looked down at the floor and nodded his head, unable to bear the piercing look from his mother.

Walter turned to Brian and asked, "Hey kid, you hungry?"

After they had left, Alexx turned to Frank smiling, "Why are you doing this? Staying with me on your day off…offering for us to stay with you."

Frank looked down and let out a long breath, then suddenly back up into Alexx's questioning expression. "Because…I…well…damn it Alexx because I care about you – that's why."

"Oh Frank…" Alexx smiled. "You're a good man Frank Tripp. I care about you as well, but it hasn't been long since…."

"Alexx, I know how long it's been since Henry died. I'm not asking you to move in with me; it's just…I want you and Brian safe."

Alexx smiled warmly while managing to keep the tears welling in her eyes from escaping down her cheeks. _ Frank you are a special man. _

* * *

"Calleigh, um…" Horatio raised his head and hesitated as he looked deep into her glistening emerald eyes, noticing that her bottom lip was quivering.

Unexpectedly, Calleigh jumped up from the sofa and walked over to the glass doors leading out to the balcony and stared out at the blue-green ocean beyond. She couldn't bear to hear the words she felt Horatio was about to say.

After a couple of minutes she broke the silence, "I'm…I'm sorry Horatio. I behaved badly this morning in the break room and I know you're about to tell me that I acted like a child, it's just that I have feelings…" she stopped as the words wouldn't come easily. _Do I make more of a fool of myself and tell him how I feel about him? Well, at least we'll clear the air and I'll find out that he can't possibly feel the same about me and that will be that._

Finally she said, "I love you…but, I'll understand if you don't…if you don't feel the same way about me." She hugged herself as her words revealed the emotion she'd been longing to say for so long.

Horatio hung his head, swallowed hard with relief and then smiled. Because she still had her back turned to him, she didn't see his reaction to her statement. If she had turned around, she would have noticed his smile and the warm expression on his face as he looked toward her, reflecting love for her that he had silently felt for years.

Calleigh braced herself for his gentle words to let her down easy. _That's just the kind of man he is – considerate of others, even when they're being foolish._

Horatio stood and walked to where Calleigh was standing, stopping just behind her as he responded,

"Calleigh…I love you. I have for a long time," he almost whispered, his voice soft. He grasped her upper arms and gently turned her to where she faced him.

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Tears began to spill freely from her eyes as she raised a shaky hand to wipe the errant tears from her cheek. Horatio stood mere inches from her and he reached out his hand, tenderly wiping away the tears that she'd missed.

One short step and she fell into his arms; pressing her face against his chest as her arms encircled his waist, she could hear his heart racing. Then a chill ran down her spine, awakening wonderful,deep sensations in her body as he buried his face into her long blonde hair, nuzzling her neck while his arms wrapped around her and then whispered into her ear,

"Oh Sweetheart, are you sure…are you sure you want me? …It will be difficult. I'm difficult."

She leaned back just enough from his embrace enabling her to search his eyes and suddenly, she felt a powerful urge to kiss him. Her lips felt the electricity between them when she pressed lightly against his and opened her eyes enough to see that his eyes had darkened with passion before he tilted his head and returned her kiss with a deeply passionate kiss of his own.

**TBC…**


	6. Chapter 6

**Revelations**

**Chapter 6**

Lara looked up as she was finishing the laser vaporization test on the small piece of latex and human hair recovered from the young victim's wound and saw Ryan and Natalia exiting the elevator. With the machine running normally, she left the DNA lab and walked out into the hall to meet them.

"Where is Horatio? Is he alright?"

Natalia could sense a slight concern in the woman's voice, but it seemed to her the inquiry was mainly one of protocol and that threw her for a moment.

"Uh…" Natalia began, "He just had a minor injury. Calleigh went with him to the hospital. They'll be back at the lab after a while. How are the tests coming?"

"Just finishing up with the vaporization test on both items now, we should have the results in about fifteen minutes."

Ryan's eyes met Natalia's as he seemed to notice the less than enthusiastic question also and suggested,

"Since you've held down the fort, so to speak, why don't you take a break; we'll wait for the results."

"Thanks, I'd like to, didn't have much lunch so, I think I'll walk to that diner down the street and get coffee and a sandwich."

As Lara rode down in the elevator she smiled, _so, Calleigh went with Horatio to get him tended to - how nice._ After settling down in a booth at the diner and placing her order with the waitress, she began watching the people pass back and forth in front of the diner through the large glass window as her thoughts began travelling back to another time in her life – a time of happiness.

_The summers that my best friend Marisol would come out to Albuquerque were some of the best times of my life after my family had to move from Orlando, when daddy 's company transferred him. She was a special person, I loved her so much. After high school, it's a shame that we lost touch with each other. I went to a college in Oregon and Marisol went to a small university in Tampa. It was years later after hearing through a mutual friend, that Marisol was living in Miami, she'd recently been diagnosed with a serious type of cancer. Making plans to fly to Miami after hearing the news, to perhaps enjoy the memory of old times before the disease took her from this world, my plans came to an abrupt halt when our friend called and told me that Marisol had been murdered. The memory of the utter shock I felt is still fresh in my mind. After the shock of her death wore off, I began investigating and discovered that she had married a Miami police Lieutenant named Horatio Caine the day before being killed. I was especially intrigued when I read that he was the supervising officer over the MDPD crime lab. Then I read that her murderers had been members of a drug cartel, and committed the horrible crime to get back at Lieutenant Caine. That very day, I vowed that I'd make him pay. That day is getting closer and closer, but I have my work cut out for me. In the short time I've been here, I've learned that he's a very smart and perceptive man._

She smiled as she admitted silently; _plus,_ _he is an attractive man and very much a gentleman. I understand how Marisol fell for him, I was almost caught up in his charisma myself at first. I need to put my plan in motion soon, but with Calleigh sticking to me like glue, I have a feeling that it will not be an easy task._

Reluctantly parting from Calleigh's sweet kisses, Horatio leaned back and smiled as he lightly pushed her hair away from her face, tenderly kissing her forehead before his hand moved down and cupped one side of her beautiful face.

With his voice full of emotion he murmured, "I can hardly believe what's happening. I've kissed you thousands of times in my dreams, but I have to say they pale in comparison to the real thing."

Calleigh's emerald eyes now sparkling with happiness, her smile radiant, she whispered, "I love you so much, you've always held my heart..."

Horatio was leaning in for another kiss, and then abruptly stopped mid-way when Calleigh's cell phone rang. Her face quickly fell with disappointment in being denied another kiss from the man she loved, but when she pulled out her phone and saw it was Alexx, she knew she couldn't ignore the call.

"Hey Alexx," Calleigh answered the call and then smiled when she detected her friend sounded stronger, while still enjoying Horatio's embrace.

"Sugar, if that offer to stay at your place still stands, Frank has graciously agreed to drive me over after I collect a few things at my house."

"Sure it does Alexx. I'll enjoy having y'all stay with me as long as you need to. I'm not at the lab now, but I'll meet you and Frank at my place say in about an hour?" She glanced up at Horatio as she spoke.

"That will be fine. Thank you Calleigh, see you then."

Calleigh ended the call as she looked into Horatio's blue eyes that had lightened just a bit while her voice reflected both a mixture of disappointment on the one hand that she'd have to part from Horatio, but relief that Alexx was better.

"Alexx has been released to go home and Frank is taking her over to my place." She hesitated and lightly ran a finger over his chin. "I wish we didn't have to stop, but I'll need to meet them."

Horatio pulled her to his chest and held her for a minute, "I wish we didn't either Sweetheart, but I have two interviews I need to conduct anyway. I'll tell you what, how about…I come by your place with Chinese take-out for everyone later? At least I'll hopefully get the chance to tell you good night."

Her lips formed a half-hearted smile before Horatio gave them a quick kiss and then broke their embrace, but he didn't let go of her hand.

"Thank you Handsome, that'd be great. Maybe I'll be able to steal a good-night kiss."

Horatio grinned, "Count on it." And then lifted her hand and kissed the back.

Horatio exited the elevator being met by Walter. As the two men walked side by side, the young CSI began explaining,

"Brian is in room one. After you called, I had Lobo brought up from holding, he's in room three."

"Thank you Walter. I believe I'll start with Brian. Could you sit in with us?"

"Sure H." As they continued walking, Walter asked, "How are you feeling?"

Horatio smiled at the question, thinking of Calleigh, "Much better Walter, thanks."

Horatio walked into the small room ahead of Walter and noticed a demure Brian Woods sitting at the table. The young man looked up upon hearing someone enter, and appeared relieved to see a familiar face.

Sitting down directly across from the young man, Horatio placed a folder on the table.

"Brian," Horatio began softly as he leaned forward and placed his arms on the glass top as he clasped his hands. Tilting his head he asked, "Are you alright after being assaulted this afternoon?"

The young man looked up at Walter and then back at Horatio only nodding his head in response. Then with a meek voice he asked, "Am I under arrest?"

"No Brian, you're not, not now, but I do need to ask you about your relationship with Ricardo Jimmerson though." Horatio noticed that the boy tensed immediately.

Brian's facial expression abruptly changed to one of anger which was also clear in his tone of voice when he responded, "I _don't_ have a relationship with any Ricardo Jimmerson."

Horatio stared at the folder resting on the table and slowly opened it, pulled the first photograph out and placed it on the table, turning it toward Brian. He watched as the realization that he had been found out spread across the young man's face.

"I'm going to ask you again Brian, what is your relationship to Ricardo."

The intense tone of Horatio's voice caused tears to well in the young man's eyes and he quickly turned his head away from the Lieutenant. Scared of telling the truth, yet just as afraid not to, he felt caught between two strong forces.

"Son, I need answers. Right now, this doesn't look good for you." Horatio glanced over at Walter who was standing close enough to see the picture. Needless to say, the big man couldn't help being shocked by what he saw.

Brian hung his head and covered his face with both hands. Shaking his head from side to side he managed to say with a shaky voice,

"I…I can't." He jerked his tear-stained face up and looked Horatio directly in the eye and continued, "Ricardo will kill my mom… maybe you too. I can't…do anything…to cause that…" he pleaded. "I've lost my dad…I couldn't handle it…if anything happened to her...or you."

Horatio swallowed hard as he looked down at the picture and then back at Brian who he had known since the young man was a child before assuring with a steady, understanding voice,

"I'll do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen. Brian, your mother is under police protection at this moment and you will be too if you'll talk to me." Horatio hesitated, reluctant to know the possible answer to his next question, "Have you sold drugs for Ricardo?"

Still holding eye contact with Horatio, Brian answered sharply, "No. I only made deliveries like other new ones. Ricardo is not very trusting of anyone new. He only includes you in more of his operation after you've been around for a while." Horatio nodded in understanding and listened as Brian explained what he knew.

When they were through, both stood and then Horatio walked around the table and pulled the young man into a fierce hug.

"Brian, I'll stand up for you with the DA. I can't promise, but you might just come out doing community service. It seems you've just made some bad decisions on choosing your friends. But, if we find evidence connecting you to a crime…it won't be that simple."

"I understand. Can I go see my mom?" He asked as Horatio stepped back and patted the side of Brian's face.

"I'll take you myself. Just sit tight for about an hour. Now, I'm going to ask Walter to put you in a holding cell here in the lab, just for your protection. He'll stay close by. I have something I need to do, ok?"

"Sure."

After watching Walter and Brian head toward the holding cells, Horatio turned and walked down the hall to room three. Stepping through the open door, the sight of a sneering Lobo sitting in leg irons and handcuffs with a uniform officer standing behind him greeted him. He figured the man sitting beside Lobo was a lawyer. _Well, well seems he's lawyered up. Wonder who's paying for him?_

"You ain't got nothin' on me Caine. Since when does protecting yoself from being attacked get you in chains?"

Horatio chuckled at the man's question. "Hector Rodriquez…we meet again."

After the interview ended, Hector, aka Lobo was extremely angry after learning from Horatio that he would not be released on bail. The man began screaming expletives at the Lieutenant as uniformed officers roughly pulled him out the door of the room. Horatio smiled with a small sense of satisfaction as he had already contacted Judge Stevens and on Horatio's recommendation had declared the man dangerous and a definite flight risk. He had given the Lieutenant permission to hold Lobo for trial on charges of possession to distribute crack; fleeing; parole violation; assault and battery on a police officer and in Horatio's mind, the most important charge of all, suspicion of murder.

Lobo's lawyer hesitated at the door and then looked back at Horatio as he said, "We'll fight these charges Lieutenant."

"Good luck," Horatio returned with a smile.

After Horatio finished up at the lab, he and Brian stepped out of the elevator into the garage and started walking toward Horatio's car.

"Brian, just to play it safe, it will be better for you to lie down on the backseat and stay down. We don't know who could be watching."

The young man followed Horatio's instructions and stayed out of sight until arriving in the garage of Calleigh's building. Horatio led the way from the car to the elevator, as both carried sacks containing the take-out food that he had told Calleigh he'd bring. As he and Brian rode the elevator to Calleigh's floor, Horatio took the opportunity to encourage Brian to tell his mother about everything.

"It'll be hard…telling her," Brian finally responded.

"I know, but she needs to hear it from you. I've known your mother for many years and I can tell you that she will support you. She loves you very much son."

Arriving at Calleigh's door, Horatio rang the doorbell.

Calleigh peeked through the security hole just to make sure who was there before unlocking the door.

"Hey guys…" she greeted as she opened the door wide.

Horatio grinned as he asked, "Any hungry folks in here?"

Passing close to Calleigh, he leaned toward her and gave her a quick kiss. The act didn't escape Alexx's or Frank's attention as they turned and smiled at each other. One of Alexx's eyebrows rose as she grunted a low, "Um-hmm."

Good food and comfortable conversation made for an enjoyable evening – except for Brian, Horatio noticed. The young man had hardly eaten any of the food and was quiet unless spoken to. Horatio had observed Alexx keeping an eye on her son, seeming to sense something was wrong.

After everyone appeared finished eating, Horatio looked in Brian's direction and nodded his head when the young man glanced his way. Nervously, Brian turned to his mother beside him and quietly said,

"Mom, can we go somewhere and talk?"

Alexx immediately turned from her son and looked directly at Horatio before responding,

"Sure Honey."

Calleigh spoke up and told them that they could go in her bedroom where they could have privacy. She realized that the conversation was important, sensing that somehow, Horatio knew what it was about.

No sooner had mother and son left the room than the doorbell rang. Horatio immediately noticed Calleigh's puzzled expression as she shrugged her shoulders as she turned towards him and quietly said,

"I'm not expecting anyone."

Horatio stood and pulled his weapon as Frank did the same. Calleigh made a move toward the door until Horatio quickly grabbed her arm and whispered for her to sit down. He then quietly walked to the security hole with his gun in hand and had just looked through the lens when the first of several shots pierced the wooden door. The redhead crouched and spun around to the left of the door, then landed with a hard thud on the floor.

Calleigh screamed, "HORATIO…" as Frank shoved her down and began returning fire.

**TBC…**


	7. Chapter 7

**Revelations **

**Chapter 7**

Frank stopped firing when he realized the shooter on the other side of the door had quit. He saw movement on his right and realized Calleigh was about to run toward Horatio and he immediately grabbed her arm to stop her.

The redhead rolled over and sat up against the wall and smiled, motioning for Calleigh to stay put.

Calleigh let out a long breath noticing Horatio was moving. Then the bedroom door opened slightly and a shaken Alexx softly called,

"Is everyone alright out there?"

Frank responded, "We're alright…shut the door and lock it." Alexx did as he said.

Horatio rolled to the opposite side of the door before slowly getting to his feet. He hesitated a minute to catch his breath and then felt the burning sensation in his side thinking a bullet must have grazed him. Steeling himself, he reached for the doorknob and jerked the door open, simultaneously stepping through the door with his gun leveled ready to meet the shooter in the hallway. Quickly scanning each way down the hall, it was clear, just one man on the floor. Looking down at the man sprawled at his feet; he lowered his gun and knelt checking for a pulse to make sure the shooter was dead. Gradually, Calleigh's neighbors began opening their doors, looking out in shock at the scene.

The closest neighbor called out, "I've called the police…"

Horatio smiled slightly as he looked up at the elderly woman and responded, "Thank you."

Calleigh, Frank and a frightened Alexx stepped out into the hallway as Horatio pushed up off of his knee and turned to speak.

Calleigh reached him quickly and wrapped her arms around his waist with some force signifying her relief that he seemed alright. Recovering his stance from the force of her greeting, he hugged her back before asking,

"Sweetheart…are you ok?"

She nodded her head that she was while keeping her head pressed against his chest until raising her eyes up toward his answering,

"I am now that you're ok."

Almost simultaneously, she felt Horatio weave slightly in her arms as she realized her left hand pressed against his back, felt wet and warm.

Frank couldn't believe that Horatio had not been hit, considering the several rounds the shooter had put through the door so he walked toward his friend to make sure the man was indeed alright.

"H, you sure you're ok?"

Horatio looked up over Calleigh's head at Frank approaching with a blank expression on his pale face before his knees buckled, sending him down to the floor. Calleigh's scream was the last thing he remembered.

* * *

He vaguely heard someone calling his name, but he couldn't see who it was._ Why can't I see who's calling me? It's a man's voice…where's Calleigh? Is she alright?_

Calleigh watched as Horatio's eyes fluttered open and then closed tightly as he grimaced and a moan escaped his lips, an obvious sign that he was feeling pain as consciousness was slowly returning. The redhead rolled his head slightly toward her, but his eyes remained closed.

Then in a weak, low voice as if searching for her, he called out, "Calleigh…"

Calleigh squeezed his hand and whispered as she lightly ran her hand down the side of his flushed, damp face, "I'm here with you Handsome, I'm right here."

Seemingly satisfied, Horatio appeared to drift back off into sleep as Calleigh, her face reflecting the concern she felt, glanced over at the young ER doctor standing on the other side of the bed attempting to gauge his reaction.

"He will be alright? You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. He'll be in pain for a couple of days, but this could have turned out much worse for him. The CT scan showed that the large-caliber bullet, narrowly missed his large intestine, just a half an inch to the right and the situation would have been very serious. He's fortunate also that the bullet passed completely through, somehow managing to avoid any other organ."

The doctor then checked Horatio's IV line as well as the fluid levels being administered before adding, "He's being given a strong pain reliever which I've just started reducing, allowing him to gradually begin waking. I'm having him taken to ICU, for a few hours until he's fully awake, just so we can watch his condition closer. You can stay with him if you'd like," the doctor smiled noticing her worried expression.

"Thank you…doctor, um…"

The young man said, "Dr. Elliot, Jim Elliot," he said as he extended his hand to her. Calleigh shook his hand,

"I'm Calleigh Duquesne."

The doctor added, "Nice to meet you. Just wish under more pleasant circumstances, but I'm glad the Lieutenant will be ok." Calleigh smiled slightly.

Dr. Elliot walked out of the trauma room and Calleigh broke down in tears as she rested her forehead on the back of Horatio's hand. She jerked her head around when she heard Horatio whisper,

"Don't cry…Sweetheart. Please…"

Wiping the tears from her eyes she quickly reached up and touched his face, "Are you in pain Handsome?"

"Some," he softly responded. "What…happened?" he asked, his tired eyes partly open as sweat beaded on his forehead and trickled down the side of his face from fever.

"You've been shot, but it was a through and through…the doctor says you'll be fine."

Horatio's brow furrowed with concern. He needed assurance, "You're ok? You weren't… hurt?"

"I'm fine Horatio. I'll be right here. Try to rest Handsome."

The door opened and two orderlies walked toward Horatio. "We're here to take him to ICU," the older man addressed Calleigh first, and then turned his attention to Horatio, asking in a loud voice, "How are you feeling sir?"

"Been…been better," Horatio responded weakly.

The man chuckled and answered, "I hear ya. We'll be real gentle with you ok? Just relax," the big man assured as he began releasing the brakes on Horatio's bed while the other orderly unplugged the IV pump from the wall and readied it for moving.

Calleigh leaned over and kissed Horatio's cheek as she whispered and squeezed his hand,

"See you in a few minutes Handsome."

She stepped aside as the men rolled Horatio out of the room and into the hallway.

The orderly at the foot of the bed turned and asked over his shoulder, "Ma'am, you know where ICU is?"

"Yes."

"We're taking him to room fifteen. Just give us a couple of minutes to get him settled."

Calleigh thought while they transferred Horatio, she'd walk out to the waiting room where she knew Frank was anxiously waiting for news of his friend's condition. Opening the door to the waiting area, she saw Natalia, Ryan as well as Lara waiting along with Frank and the sight warmed her heart. They truly were a family.

Frank stood quickly and approached her with a worried expression on his face, "Calleigh…how is he?"

Tears welled in her eyes as she replied, "The doctor assures me he'll be alright. It was a through and through – didn't hit any vital organs." She exhaled sharply, feeling the tears beginning to escape which caused Natalia to wrap her arms around her friend and pulled her close just as the tears spilled down Calleigh's cheeks.

Gently rubbing Calleigh's back as her friend sobbed softly. Natalia exclaimed, "Thank God his injury wasn't worse Cal…we've been so worried. Can we see him?"

Calleigh stepped back and wiped her cheeks with her hand before answering. "He… he will be in ICU for a few hours, but after that he'll be moved to a regular room."

Ryan put his hands behind his head and then let out a loud breath of relief. "That's great news tha H will be ok. We couldn't get a hold of Walter, but I left a message on his cell."

Lara touched Calleigh's arm and said, "I'm glad he will be ok."

"Thank you Lara. We all are," Calleigh replied.

As if on cue, the large African-American CSI burst through the double doors on the far wall loudly asking as he walked toward the group, "What happened to H?"

Ryan explained everything to Walter while Frank stepped over to Calleigh.

"Frank, how are Alexx and Brian?" Calleigh asked in a low voice.

"Last I heard, Alexx was about to come unglued over what happened to Horatio. She can't stand not being able to see about him." Frank's admission caused a slight smile from Calleigh.

"They've been taken to a safe house?"

"Yep, I put three of my most trusted officers with them. They're safe."

"Good. Until we can figure out exactly who did this, we need to treat it as a threat against Alexx and Brian, as well as Horatio. Would you send a couple of officers over here to guard Horatio's room?"

"Done. I'll call Alexx too and let her know about Horatio." He could see Calleigh's body begin to shake. "Calleigh…" he opened his arms and she stepped into his embrace.

"I've never been so frightened Frank."

"I know Cal…neither have I. Horatio's a strong man though. The main problem you're going to have is keeping him down long enough to heal."

Stepping back and looking up at the big detective she replied as she smiled through her tears, "I know, but I'm going to do my best to make him rest."

"Um, Cal it's none of my business, but…are you and Horatio seeing each other?"

"Technically, not yet. We only admitted our feelings for each other earlier today. But, if IAB hears about this we'll be in big trouble, especially Horatio, so please keep it quiet."

Frank broke out in a smile, "Calleigh, I'm happy for you guys. We've all suspected - just didn't know when the both of you would ever figure it out, but I won't say anything. I promise, and I don't see any of the team having a problem with it either."

"Thank you, Frank. You're a good friend."

Lara was standing within earshot of the private conversation and smiled by what she overheard.

After Calleigh left her friends and colleagues, she headed for the ICU.

Ryan spoke up and said to the others, "Let's get over to Calleigh's place and find evidence that will lead us to who did this and the person, or persons that instigated it."

The team left the hospital, while Frank's first stop was MPD. Then he planned to go and check on Alexx and Brian.

* * *

The early morning sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, painting a light blue sky with pink and gold streaks that reflected in the serene ocean below, just yards from the hospital. The light cast a warm glow in the room filled with machines that were steadily beeping and whirring. Calleigh's eyes opened slightly and she immediately felt the aching of her muscles caused from sleeping in the large chair the nurses had brought in for her during the night.

Slowly changing positions she became painfully aware of her surroundings, at first confused about where she was, but that changed in an instant when her ears picked up on the familiar deep velvety voice and she immediately turned her head towards its owner,

"Good morning Beautiful," Horatio softly called as he watched the beautiful blonde, who possessed his heart, slowly wake.

Calleigh smiled at Horatio who was lying propped up against the pillows in his hospital bed.

"Hey Handsome…how are you feeling this morning?" Asking softly as she stood and walked over, before sitting down on the bed where he patted a spot beside him.

Calleigh took his hand in hers as he answered smiling, "Feels like I've been socked in my gut, but my reward was watching you sleeping, and then the pleasure of watching you wake up."

Smiling at the fact he was more coherent this morning, she reached up and brushed some of his red hair back off his forehead, "You scared me to death Horatio. I…I thought I'd lost you."

"That…will never happen, Sweetheart if I have anything to say about it."

Their moment ended abruptly when a nurse walked into the room smiling slightly at the couple as she exclaimed, "I see your lady friend is awake."

Calleigh gave the nurse a sheepish glance as the woman looked over Horatio's chart, "The Lieutenant wouldn't let us wake you so we could move him to a regular room, said you needed your sleep."

"Sorry to hold everything up," Calleigh softly responded as she glanced back at a grinning Horatio.

"Oh, we didn't mind, did we Lieutenant," the nurse chuckled as she gave Horatio a wink.

Being moved from one bed to another, caused the pain in his side to increase, but one of the nurses who was busily getting him settled, said that the pain medication would help give him relief.

His private room was large with a big window affording him a view of the ocean, but at the moment he couldn't keep his eyes open. Calleigh thought the head nurse must have increased the pain medication to help him with the move so, she quietly sat down in a chair beside his bed and watched as Horatio drifted off.

Within the hour, a nurse brought in a breakfast tray, the noise causing Horatio to stir slightly.

"Hey sleepyhead…breakfast is here."

Calleigh began opening the cellophane wrapping that encased the plastic utensils.

Horatio slowly opened his eyes and saw the tray of food and slurred slightly as he replied, "Not…hungry."

"Horatio, you need to eat to keep your strength up. They brought you eggs and bacon with a huge biscuit and honey on the side, juice and a little pot of coffee."

"You…eat it."

"C'mon Handsome, eat a little for me? I'll help you."

Knowing she would persist, he gave in by nodding his head slightly, then looked up at Calleigh and smiled so she pushed the button that raised the head of the bed and placed a napkin on his bare chest before aiming a fork full of scrambled egg at his mouth.

He had eaten about a third of the breakfast when there was a knock on the door and then Frank Tripp walked into the room.

"Well I'll be damned, how about this! How lucky can a man get, having a beautiful woman feeding him breakfast?"

"Morning Francis…" Horatio grinned sheepishly as he greeted his friend.

Stopping beside the bed, Frank's suit coat was shoved back by his hands, before they came to rest on his hips as he began, "You know you scared the hell out of us Horatio."

"Sorry, my friend. Sure... didn't intend to do that."

"How you feeling this morning?"

"Better. How…um," he abruptly stopped as pain suddenly shot out of his side and radiated across his abdomen forcing him to close his eyes and grimace. Calleigh lightly squeezed his arm. After several seconds, his breathing regulated and he opened his eyes, noticing her concern.

"Just a little pain…it's gone now. Starting the question again he asked, "How is Alexx… Brian?"

"Worried about you. I put them under protection at one of our safe locations with some officers. I'll check on them after my shift."

"Why are there officers here at my door?"

Frank looked over at Calleigh before answering, "Because we don't know if someone's gunning for you, or Alexx and Brian. Until we know more, this is the way it's gonna be."

"Waste of manpower, giving me protection…" Horatio muttered as he turned his head away from Frank.

"I don't think so H, not after I heard about Lobo unraveling on you at the end of your interrogation yesterday. He has connections and we're gonna check out every one of them. Speaking of which, guess I better get down to the department and get to work. I'll check on you later."

Calleigh spoke up, "I'll be down in a little while Frank to help."

Turning her attention back to Horatio she noticed he looked tired and glassy-eyed, she supposed from his fever.

"Do you feel like eating more Handsome?"

"Sweetheart…I don't think I can. I feel so tired."

"Tell you what; I'll leave so you can get some rest. I need to stop by my place and pick up a few things and then get down to the lab."

"Calleigh…I don't want you to go back to your place. It's not safe. Where, uh, where are my things?"

"They gave them to me in the ER and I have them in my purse. I'll put everything but your wallet in the safe in your office."

"Just need my cell phone… can't be isolated."

Calleigh's expression instantly changed to one of disbelief. "Horatio, you don't need worry with anything about work. The team and I will handle everything."

He took her hand and gently rubbed the back with his thumb before looking up and softly saying, "I meant…I wanted the ability to stay in touch with you."

Calleigh leaned in and lightly kissed his lips, then softly traced her finger lightly across his forehead and down his cheek as her lips once again found his, and hesitated only briefly before turning the kiss deeply passionate.

When their lips finally parted, Horatio whispered, "Your kisses are better for me than any medicine. Sweetheart…promise me you'll be careful today."

"I will. Don't worry about me. You just get better Handsome and rest, I'll see you later."

"Would you...do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"There's a folder on my desk...please put it in my office safe. When you look at what's inside...you'll understand."

Calleigh felt torn inside. She didn't want to leave him, but yet, she's required at the lab in his absence. Stopping at the door and then turning back to look at him, she smiled before walking out. She had assured him that she'd clean up at the lab and use the change of clothes she kept in her locker, instead of stopping by her place.

So consumed about her concern for Horatio, Calleigh failed to notice Lara, who was sitting down the hall, watching her leave. As soon as Calleigh walked around the corner and out of sight, the CSI pulled out her badge and ID and walked to the officers as she presented her credentials for their inspection. Cleared to go in, she slowly opened the door and found Horatio asleep.

**TBC…**


	8. Chapter 8

**Revelations**

**Chapter 8**

Lara walked closer to the sleeping Lieutenant and stopped just beside the bed and watched him reacting as if he were dreaming. Horatio groaned as his body began restlessly moving in the bed. She noted the sheen of sweat on his face and the fact that his right hand seemed to instinctively stay pressed into his lower abdomen.

She spoke aloud, "Your demons are visiting it seems Lieutenant Caine, as rightly they should. I'm sure your suffering is more magnified with the knowledge that my dear friend Marisol ended up being sacrificed in your place. It should have been _you_ killed that day." She laughed lightly and continued, "Your physical suffering at the moment is just an unexpected plus that only enhances my plan of making you pay for your sins."

Lara's lecture was quickly interrupted by the sound of the room's door opening. Turning around, she saw a nurse hurriedly enter, undoubtedly coming to check her patient. The nurse looked at Lara and immediately inquired,

"Who are you?"

Then looking beyond the brunette woman to the pale face of the man lying in the bed shaking with chills and moaning in pain, the nurse didn't wait for Lara's answer.

"You need to leave – NOW!" Reaching over Horatio for the call button the nurse summoned help. When the intercom's speaker jumped to life with a nurse answering, _"How may I help you?"_ Lara watched from a few feet back toward the door where she'd moved as the nurse shouted, "Is Dr. Schmidt on the floor? I need him STAT!" Lara smiled wickedly and quietly eased out of the room.

* * *

Having showered and changed into a new set of clothes, Calleigh walked out of the locker room and headed for a much needed cup of coffee before beginning her day in Horatio's office. She smelled the aroma of fresh brewed coffee wafting down the hall as she got closer to the break room and knew someone on the team had already arrived.

As she walked through the door, she saw Walter watching something on his cell phone and then suddenly he let out a loud, _"Yeah… Alright!" _The shout startling her for a moment.

Calleigh smiled at the young CSI's excitement and then commented, "Morning Walter. Whatever you're watching, it must be good."

Walter glanced up briefly before his eyes travelled back to the small screen. "Morning Calleigh. Yeah, it's the Heat's game last night. I thought I'd try to finish watching before Ryan arrived. He always spoils it for me by giving me the score…this time it would make me have to kill him and I prefer not to deal with all the hassle of paperwork – he's not worth it."

Calleigh rolled her eyes and muttered, "Men," as she walked out and left Walter to his game, she then walked toward the stairs leading to Horatio's office with her cup of steaming, hot coffee.

Pulling out her key to the office, she found it was not needed as she turned the knob, the door opened. _Who left this door unlocked? If Horatio's not here, the night shift commander should make sure that it's locked._

Setting the cup down on the coaster that was always on Horatio's desk, she sat down in his chair and paused a moment to look around, feeling his aura that was present in the room, even when he wasn't. Then she looked at the pictures on his desk. One picture was of Marisol and Horatio on their wedding day, the other, a group picture of the team. Again the fact that Horatio was beside her leaped out and the sight caused her to smile.

Thinking she'd tackle the stacks of paperwork later, she thought she'd secure the folder Horatio had asked her to put in his safe. _Then, I want to get started on the comparisons of the bullets from last night as they will give us clues about who was involved. _Looking around on the desk and under papers, she didn't readily see the folder he spoke of. _Maybe he stuck it in a drawer._ She picked up the ring of keys and found the key to his desk. Unlocking the deep file cabinet, which unlocked the drawer above, she quickly rifled through the items, but didn't see a folder separate from the others._ I need to call him._ She smiled,_ He was right when he said he needed his phone. I already need his help, but I won't make a habit of bothering him._

Before she could push the speed dial, Ryan stuck his head in the door and announced, "Calleigh, we got a call from patrol. Ricardo was just spotted entering a restaurant in Little Havana."

She immediately locked the desk back and then responded, "Let's go see if we can get this bastard."_ I'll look for the folder when I get back._

She and Walter were in the first Hummer approaching the building where the officers had spotted Ricardo. Ryan and Natalia were approaching from a different direction.

While stopped for a red light, her phone signaled she had an incoming call. Glancing over at the phone, that was secured in a holder on the dashboard, her breathing suddenly stopped. Mount Sinai Medical Center was printed on the screen. Walter saw the name of the hospital and quickly looked over at Calleigh.

She hurriedly jerked the phone from the clamp and answered,

"CSI Duquesne"

There was a period of brief silence on the other end before an unfamiliar voice asked, "Ms. Duquesne?" Calleigh felt as if her heart literally stopped at that second.

"Yes?"

"Dr. Ernie Schmidt, I'm Lieutenant Caine's doctor." Calleigh's body stiffened, and gripped the steering wheel.

"Is…is something wrong with Horatio?"

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but he's being prepped for surgery at the moment."

Reeling with the news, she suddenly couldn't speak.

Quickly, Dr. Schmidt asked, "Ms. Duquesne, are you there?"

"Yes…yes doctor, I'm sorry. When I left him earlier this morning, he seemed tired, but otherwise ok. What is wrong?"

"His symptoms are similar to those of a perforated intestine. We really won't know until the surgeon examines the area through a laparoscopic, exploratory procedure. He'll insert a small camera that will magnify the tissue and hopefully find the problem."

A blaring horn from behind the Hummer broke her concentration on the conversation and made her realize the light had turned green. Clearing the intersection, she pulled the Hummer out of traffic and stopped along the curb. Walter was becoming concerned about what might be happening with their boss since Calleigh seemed very upset.

Returning to the call, she rubbed her forehead with her hand and questioned, "Horatio had a CT scan done in the ER last night and it did not show any other damage other than where the bullet passed through his muscle and tissue. I don't understand how this could be happening."

"Believe me Ms. Duquesne, neither do we. The surgery should reveal the problem."

"I'll call you when we know something. He'll have to stay in recovery for a while afterward until he is awake and talking."

Calleigh thanked the doctor and ended the call. Walter noticed the frightened expression on her face and asked,

"Calleigh, what's wrong with H?"

She explained what the doctor had told her and Walter blew out a breath and nervously rubbed his shaved head before speaking,

"You need to be there with him."

Calleigh snapped her head around and curtly responded, "If I was there, they wouldn't let me see him. Right now, what I and the rest of us need to do is find the bastard that ordered this hit."

She pulled the massive vehicle back out into traffic and continued the last few blocks to the restaurant. When they arrived, Ryan and Natalia were waiting a few yards down the street.

As they met on the sidewalk, Calleigh and Ryan began discussing how they would handle the situation while Walter eased over toward Natalia and whispered, "Help me keep an eye on Cal. A doctor called her on our way here and told her that H has had a setback. I'm concerned she'll be distracted." Natalia nodded her head signifying she would.

They decided that Ryan would enter alone, causing less attention as he looked around for Ricardo. Minutes later, he walked out and joined the others as they sat at an outdoor café across the street with coffees.

Ryan's petulant expression as he sat down, gave them the results of the scouting mission even before he said one word.

"He's not in there." Running one of his hands through his hair as he rested his elbows on his knees, he quietly voiced his frustration, "If we could get a court order…"

"Based on what? A suspect entered a building and now has obviously left," Calleigh responded. "Look, what we can do and it might give us results quicker is to request undercover officers to watch the building and area for a while. He might come back."

Calleigh made the call and got assurance that the officers would relieve them within the next thirty minutes. After the officers took over, Walter rode back to the lab with Ryan and Natalia after telling Calleigh they could manage, while she went to the hospital to check on Horatio.

She'd perhaps travelled six blocks and as she looked around while stopped for a light, she saw him walking ahead of her on the sidewalk. At first, she couldn't believe it. _Ricardo! I'd __like nothing better than to tell Horatio we caught this piece of trash. _

Quickly pushing the speed-dial for Ryan, he answered and she explained where she was and who she was following.

"Keep him in sight Calleigh. We'll be there in ten minutes, five if we're lucky."

Ending the call, Calleigh noticed Ricardo glance back over his shoulder before taking off in a sprint. She jerked the Hummer over to the curb and jumped out pulling her weapon as she began to run after the man.

People on the sidewalk became alarmed as she ran through the crowd, brandishing her gun shouting that she was police and for them to move out-of-the-way. _Thank goodness all I had in my locker this morning were my running shoes! _

"There they are," Natalia shouted as she pointed. Ryan jerked the wheel causing the Hummer to swerve down a cross street and gunned the vehicle toward the chase.

The Hummer screeched to a halt and doors flew open as Ryan screamed, "Calleigh," before starting to run after her with Natalia and Walter close behind.

Ricardo could feel his muscles tightening and he knew he couldn't keep up the fast pace much longer so, he cut into an offshoot of the alley and had just rounded the corner at the opposite end and found an unlocked door. Quickly stepping through it, he closed it behind him and turned the lock on the inside. Catching his breath enough to start looking around, he realized he was in the storage room of a restaurant.

Calleigh entered the alley with her gun at eye level, grasping it with both hands as she carefully scanned the opening from one side to another while she slowly began walking toward the opposite end. When she was about half way down the alley, the other CSIs appeared and followed, quickly trying to catch up with the fast-moving blonde to give backup.

Calleigh stopped before rounding the corner and then in one swift movement stepped around the corner to find that the short alley was empty. Then, her eyes focused on the nearest door. _If I were Ricardo, I'd try every door to see if one opened._ Ricardo pressed his ear to the door and heard the movement on the other side. He'd discovered that essentially the room was a trap for him. The only other door seemed bolted from the other side.

When his eyes caught the doorknob moving, he eased the lock off and shoved the door open, knocking Calleigh backwards which caused her gun to discharge. The bullet flew past Ricardo's head and buried into the brick wall of the building behind him. The man then hurdled over the CSI and hit the wall enclosing the small area and was clawing his way to the top just as Ryan, Walter and Natalia rounded the corner.

"STOP! MIAMI-DADE POLICE!" Ryan shouted as the man approached the top of the wall.

Ricardo stopped and turned around for just a second, giving Walter the opportunity to reach up and grab a handful of the bottom the man's pants leg. Ricardo kicked hard enough knocking Walter back, but the material tore and the man disappeared over the high wall.

Ryan stepped over to where Calleigh was lying on the dirty asphalt and Natalia was on her knees beside her.

"Calleigh…Calleigh, can you hear me?" Natalia called frantically.

Calleigh's eyes were open, but were dazed. She began attempting to sit up and Natalia tried to make her lie back down to no avail.

"I'm…I'm ok Nat."

Ryan and Walter stood by them and Ryan watched Calleigh for a moment then walked a few steps away and called for a bus.

Walter walked over next to him asking, "Did you call for paramedics?"

"I did. The way she looks tells me she might have a concussion."

Walter held the material up and commented, "I think we'll be able to lift some DNA off this material. It should give us a base for testing comparisons on the evidence we already have."

* * *

After the ER doctor finished checking her, he told her that they found she only had a mild concussion and needed to take the next couple of days off from work. Riding up in the elevator, as she headed for Horatio's room, she'd tried to think of how she would explain the bruise on her chin where Ricardo slammed the door into her face. She knew Horatio would be upset regardless.

Dr. Schmidt had found her in the ER, after she'd requested to see him to find out about Horatio, shocked to find that he was in a regular room. He explained that the surgeon, performing laparoscopic surgery, found a small opening in the wall of Horatio's colon made by a small piece of wood which the scan easily missed. The surgeon believed it must have moved partly out of the opening when food passed by it, dislodging the material enough to where bacteria and intestinal contents were escaping into his abdominal cavity. Calleigh explained that the bullet had passed through a wooden door before entering Horatio.

She took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Horatio appeared as if he were asleep so, she quietly pulled a chair closer to his bedside and sat down. _He does look better. His color has returned and he's not feverish. _

Horatio stirred in the bed and rolled his head to the left as he slowly opened his eyes. Not expecting to see anyone there, especially Calleigh, his lips turned up into a smile when his eyes found her.

"Hey Handsome. I heard you had a rough day. I wish I could have been here with you…but, we were kinda busy."

His smile quickly vanished as his eyes focused on Calleigh's face.

"Calleigh…Sweetheart," his left hand moved toward her face and stopped as his fingers lightly brushed the dark bruise visible on her chin, even though she'd put on extra makeup trying to hide it.

She watched the anger flash from his blue eyes as he asked, "Who did this?"

* * *

Frank had stopped by a restaurant and picked up a few dinner orders to go for Alexx, Brian, the officers on duty at the safe house, and himself. He'd taken a few turns down empty streets just to make sure he wasn't being followed before arriving at the automatic gate. As he keyed in the code, he thought how helpful it was that the chief had an old friend who was on a six month tour of Europe with his wife and family, and that the man had agreed to let them use the guest house for Alexx and Brian. As he drove past two security officers sitting just inside the grounds, he threw up a hand and gave them a brief wave. _The only way I'm able to do my job is knowing that Alexx and Brian are in the most secure area in Miami. The security system on this joint is better than Fort Knox. Still, I'm keeping a minimum of two officers on duty._

The officer stationed in front of the house, thanked Frank and accepted his dinner before opening the door for the Sargent to enter, since the detective's hands were full of sacks.

Alexx smiled as Frank walked in with sacks of food.

"There's enough food in the pantry and refrigerator to feed an army. I could have fixed something Frank."

Looking up at Alexx as he was emptying the sacks of the multiple containers, Frank responded,

"No need for you to cook. The department is buying. You're supposed to be resting anyhow."

"Sugar, I'll end up being as big as Mobile if I keep on just resting and eating." Her expression turned serious.

"How is Horatio?"

Frank sucked in a deep breath, thinking he'd give her the bad news first, then the good.

"He had a little setback today. His condition became worse so they took him in for exploratory surgery," stopping briefly as he heard a small gasp, "he's fine. They found a small piece of wood, probably off the door when the bullet went through, stuck in his colon. They removed it and cauterised the opening. He'll really be ok now that Calleigh will have to stay with him."

Alexx's face wrinkled in confusion.

"What do you mean by _have_ to stay with him?"

Brian walked up and Frank handed the boy a couple of containers and after thanking Frank, walked back to his room.

"Uh, Calleigh had a little run-in with Ricardo this afternoon. Docs said she has a mild concussion and will have to miss a couple of days of work. I figure she'll stay with Horatio."

Alexx sat down heavily in a nearby chair and let out a frustrated breath.

"I can't stand being separated from everything going on…and from my friends."

"You're not separated from me," Frank's lips then formed a shy smile.

Alexx turned around and smiled warmly as she reached over and took his hand in hers and then said, "Thank you".

* * *

After Calleigh had eaten some off of her tray and Horatio had tried to consume most of the chicken broth and green gelatin that was his supper, he slowly began to shift his body over to one side of the bed and motioned for her to join him.

"Are you sure I won't hurt you?"

Horatio smiled tenderly as he held his hand out to her, "You won't hurt me Sweetheart."

Snuggling close to his left side, the comfort she felt of being held in his arms soothed her more than anything else would have. Shortly afterward, Horatio heard her breathing become light and steady signifying she had drifted off to sleep with her head on his chest.

Mindful of the lump on the back of her head, he gently stroked over the injury and down the length of her hair to her shoulders. _I never dreamed it would feel this wonderful to hold another sleeping woman. I love Calleigh more than I could ever possibly have imagined and that's why I've got to get out of here and find that scum Ricardo before he hurts anyone else._

Horatio lightly kissed the top of Calleigh's head, but his eyes remained open for a few more hours as his thoughts centered on what seemed to be a dream he'd had. All he could remember was a woman's voice telling him how it was his fault that Marisol had been murdered. Between that and Ricardo, he knew sleep would not come his way anytime soon.

**TBC…**


	9. Chapter 9

**Revelations**

**Chapter 9**

It had been two days since Ricardo had escaped the grasp of the CSIs and the frustration was building. The piece of material that Walter managed to salvage from the fugitive, gave them much-needed DNA that absolutely connected Ricardo to the evidence found in the child's fatal wound. As much as some criminals attempt to hide their shady activities, even the best are connected by one tiny piece of evidence that goes unnoticed, except by trained investigators. There was no doubt in any of their minds now, that Ricardo was the shooter.

Ryan found himself buried in tests on other cases which needed completing before their impending court dates which were rapidly approaching for some. The Harrison case had consumed most of the team's time due to the fact that it concerned the unnecessary death of an innocent child and they had allowed other cases to fall to the side, especially since being short-handed the last few days. They all realized if Lara was not there helping, there would have been no way they'd have completed the number of tests that they had. Still, they missed Horatio's guidance and Calleigh's ability of handling ballistics.

Lara quietly eased the door of the trace lab open, wanting to surprise Ryan with the results of her last firearm certification exercise. She looked down at her hand that held the laminated card, signifying she'd satisfactorily completed the requirements for firearm endorsement. She could now go out into the field with the rest of the team and help gather evidence.

Ryan sensed someone standing behind him and thought; _surely it can't be H back already. _He glanced over his shoulder and saw that it was Lara.

"Hey, where have you been? You're just in time to help me finish up with this evidence." Pausing, he turned completely around to face her just in time to see her smile fade. "Oh yeah, you had your firearm certification this morning. How'd it go?"

Realizing he was toying with her, she smiled broadly as she held out her certification and report for him to see.

"This says that I can now go with all of you out into the field."

Ryan took the card from her, along with her test results and let out a low whistle.

"Wow, you scored a 95 on marksmanship! That's excellent. You're almost up in the top league with Horatio and Calleigh."

"Oh, do you know what their scores were?"

Ryan chuckled before answering, "On his last annual qualification, H scored a 98.5. Calleigh scored slightly higher with a 99. Those are two people who I would not like have shooting at me."

Lara smiled. _Hmm, so Horatio is a top marksman. How interesting. I'll have to keep in mind that Calleigh is even better._

"Well, enough about shooting. You said you needed some help?" She asked as she reached for her lab coat and shrugged it on.

Just as she got comfortable on the stool, the door opened and Walter stuck his head inside announcing,

"Guys, a call just came in. Double homicide at Ms. Harrison's sister's house."

* * *

Returning from Horatio's condo after a shower and change of clothes, Calleigh pushed the door to Horatio's room open and stopped. He was standing, trying to reach around and tuck his shirt inside his pants, but not succeeding very well as he winced in obvious pain each time he tried.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked in an incredulous tone of voice.

His shirt half in and half out, Horatio let his hand fall from his waist and used it to prop against the bed. If someone were to ask him how he felt at the moment, he'd have to admit that he still felt a bit weak.

"Calleigh, I need to go to the lab. I've already talked to Dr. Schmidt and they are bringing my discharge papers as soon as they get them." He avoided her piercing stare by looking down at the floor.

"And just what is the doctor's opinion about you doing this? Even if he agreed to discharge you, I'm sure he meant for home and rest." Her tone of voice sounded sharp as she attempted to drive home her point.

Horatio kept his head down, but his voice was firm,

"Frank called earlier. Patrol found Fannie Harrison and her sister Shante this morning…they were murdered sometime last night. Tom is at the scene performing a preliminary."

He heard her gasp and then he raised his head as he looked her in the eye before continuing,

"Ricardo must be stopped Calleigh. He killed a child, Alexx and Brian are in hiding, he hurt you…and it could have been so much worse…now this." his voice trailing off.

Her voice softer, she had to ask, but felt she already knew what the answer would be.

"What about the officers guarding them?" Horatio's lips tightened before looking down shaking his head indicating that they' been killed as well, before easing down on the bed.

The door opened and a nurse entered carrying a clipboard with papers attached, Horatio's discharge papers, then after her, Dr. Schmidt.

"Ms. Duquesne," Calleigh turned her head toward the doctor, "the Lieutenant didn't give me much choice but to discharge him from the hospital after threatening to leave regardless of my wishes. Will you make sure he rests? He doesn't need to be on his feet for long periods of time, although I do want him to walk some and not stay in bed. We'll give you dressings and an antibiotic ointment for his wound to take with you. It needs changing twice a day. Make sure he takes this antibiotic as directed until they're finished," he said as he tore off a written prescription from a pad.

Horatio looked up from signing the papers and tilted his head towards Calleigh, his eyes pleading for her to understand. Feeling her resolve weakening and giving in to Horatio's wishes, she never had been able to resist his puppy dog look._ Damn he's a stubborn man._

"Yes, I will. I'll do my best to see that he behaves," she answered, her eyes never leaving Horatio's. The redhead showed his appreciation for her support with a slight smile.

After the doctor left, the nurse promised to return shortly with a wheelchair for the Lieutenant.

Horatio slowly pushed his weary body off the bed and asked, "Sweetheart, would you mind helping me finish dressing?"

Calleigh's face still reflecting her concerns about Horatio leaving the hospital too soon, walked over to him and tenderly wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Are you sure you feel well enough to leave?"

"I have to Sweetheart," was his quick reply, never admitting how he really felt. He pulled her close, as he wrapped his arms around her, all the while realizing that her touch gave him renewed strength and determination.

Leaning back a little in her embrace, he searched her eyes before declaring,

"You know you've taken on a difficult task – making sure I behave. I imagine it will require your constant attention, day and night." He finished with a soft kiss on her forehead as Calleigh's mind was trying to absorb the possible meaning of his words.

"Are you…are you asking me to stay with you?" her voice reflecting uncertainty.

"I'll leave that decision up to you. But, do you know of a better way to keep up with me?"

* * *

Frank was in the kitchen pouring a cup of coffee to go with an apple Danish when Alexx walked in.

"Good morning Frank. I didn't expect you back so early." Alexx's warm tone of voice, accompanied by an even warmer smile.

Debating as whether to tell Alexx about what had happened overnight, he finally decided that it'd be better if she knew.

"Uh, yeah, something happened last night. The um, mother of the child killed in the drive-by, along with her sister were murdered sometime in the night. I got a call about four this morning with the news."

"Oh God, Frank no." Alexx paused trying to steady her voice before asking, "You think it was Ricardo?"

Frank looked at her, his face grim as he answered, "I know it was. Look, I don't know of a safer place for you and Brian than right here, but I still want you to be careful."

Alexx's expression suddenly looked troubled. "What's wrong Alexx? Nothing happened here, did it?"

Alexx turned away and walked a few steps toward a chair and sat down, placing her hand over her mouth. Frank put his cup down on the counter and followed her.

Pulling out another chair from under the table, he sat down facing her.

"Alexx, talk to me. What's wrong?"

Alexx looked up and answered, "I went into the living room last night after you left and found Brian on his laptop. He was on Facebook."

Frank let out a long breath and put his head in his hand and wiped backward across the top of his head.

"The boy is bored Frank. I immediately told him to get off because I didn't think it was a good idea to surf a public website and he did as I asked."

Frank turned his head and looked across the room at the windows, but remained silent for a couple of minutes.

He turned back toward Alexx and exclaimed,

"I know this is hard on both of you, but we're trying to keep you alive. That one instance could have revealed your location to someone and they could have turned around and sold the information to Ricardo. Criminals tend to gather a lot of their info from social websites."

"Do you think that happened?"

"Hell I don't know Alexx. This technology stuff…it just blows my mind. But, if you wanted to know the whereabouts of a teenager, where would you look?" His eyes bored into Alexx's as he asked the question.

Alexx felt a chill run down her spine as the stark realization sunk in. Her dark brown eyes widened in fear.

"Frank…you're right. What are we going to do now?"

"You and Brian are staying right here. We're going to need extra help. I'm going to ask the team if they would take turns staying here in shifts, just to be on the safe side."

Frank noticed the apprehension washing over Alexx's face. He wanted to reassure her.

The big detective stood and held out his hand for Alexx to take. She took his hand and stood; puzzled about what was happening, but when he wrapped his arms around her she realized how much she missed being held by a strong man. Suddenly, the memories with Henry flooded her mind and she pushed away from Frank with tears in her eyes as she turned and quickly walked out of the room. Frank went after her, catching up with her in the living room. He reached out and gently took ahold of her arm causing her to abruptly stop.

"Alexx, I'm sorry. I shouldn't 've done that."

Frank was not ready for Alexx's response when she quickly turned around.

"Your embrace…felt wonderful. It's me. I…I couldn't help but to think about Henry and that's not fair to you."

"Hey…I'm not asking you to forget about Henry. I know he'll always be in your heart, that's just normal. But maybe one day, Alexx, you'll have room there for me too."

Alexx couldn't contain her tears and she took the couple of steps back into Frank's arms, then buried her face in his chest and sobbed softly. Frank just held her and let her cry.

"I'm not going to let anything happen Alexx. We'll stop him."

* * *

The team had been back at the lab about an hour when the elevator doors opened and Calleigh walked out accompanied by Horatio.

Walter was the first to see them and quickly strode out of the trace lab in astonishment as he approached the couple,

"H, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in the hospital!"

Horatio gave the young CSI a wan smile. "Nice to see you too Walter."

Calleigh smiled as Walter sputtered for words. "H, I didn't mean…"

Horatio looked down at the pair of sunglasses he was stroking in his hands and softly responded,

"I know Walter. I know." He looked up at the tall man and continued, "We've got to stop Ricardo and I want to help."

"Hey H," Ryan shouted from down the hall as he and Lara stepped out of the DNA lab. "How are you feeling?" He asked as he stopped beside Walter. Lara looked across at Calleigh and noticed her concern for the Lieutenant's well-being before returning her concentration on the conversation.

"Been better," he replied as he looked around at the CSI. "Was there a good collection of evidence at the murder scene Mr. Wolfe?"

"Yeah H. Lara and I found enough to identify the killer. The murders were obviously very personal."

Glancing to the side toward Calleigh, and then back to the others, Horatio suggested, "Let's take this conversation into trace, shall we?"

Horatio eased down on a stool and listened as the three investigating CSIs described the evidence they found at the scene.

Ryan began. "Ms. Harrison was brutally raped before she died. She struggled against her attacker according to defensive wounds on her lower arms and hands. We swabbed under her nails even though there was no visible skin tissue present. The sample did turn up traces of rayon material, presumably from the attacker's shirt. Walter is in the process of analyzing the samples now."

"I'll have the results for you within an hour H. I really am glad to have you back Horatio."

Horatio nodded his head and gave Walter a brief smile before responding, "Thank you."

"There's no doubt that Ricardo Jimmerson committed these murders," Lara commented after finishing her report. She gradually looked up and found herself staring straight into Horatio's questioning blue eyes. _The way he's staring at me, could he remember my voice from the hospital? It was a foolish thing to do on my part, but it did give me some satisfaction to gloat._

Horatio quickly turned his eyes to the floor in deep concentration. _I could swear that it was Lara's voice in my dream at the hospital, but why would she have been there? You're just imagining things old man._

"Did any of their neighbors notice any strangers hanging around in the neighborhood prior to the attack?" Calleigh asked, joining in on the conversation.

"No one would admit it if they did. You know, in most neighborhoods that have a high crime rate, residents are not going to talk to us out of fear for their own safety," Ryan answered.

Horatio eased off the stool and after waiting a few moments for the pain in his gut to calm from the movement, he looked over at Calleigh near him and stated,

"After I speak to Tom about what he's found, I want to go to the crime scene. Would you have time to drive me?" She nodded that she would.

Turing back to the others he said, "Good work. Find me when all the results are in."

Horatio began walking slowly toward the elevator as he pulled his cell phone from the inside pocket of his suit coat, he pushed the button that would connect him to Frank Tripp.

As Calleigh watched Horatio walk away, she was drawn from her thoughts by Lara,

"Should Horatio be back so soon after being shot?"

Never taking her eyes off of the redhead, Calleigh answered, "As a rule, he does what he wants to do." Calleigh then followed after Horatio as he headed for the morgue.

**TBC…**


	10. Chapter 10

**Revelations**

**Chapter 10**

After obtaining a visitor's pass for the older woman at the reception desk, Natalia escorted her to the lab and on into an interview room, promising to return after a few minutes.

Finding Ryan in the trace lab, Natalia pushed through the door and excitedly called out,

"Ryan…we have an eye-witness that places Ricardo in the neighborhood prior to the killings."

Smiling as he looked up from his work he responded, "Good job Nat that will definitely seal the deal, along with the physical evidence we gathered."

"Of all the 'don't want to get involved' answers I received, her neighbor across the street is willing to testify to seeing three men lingering down the street just before dark. One of the descriptions fits Ricardo."

"H is down in the morgue right now, he'll want to do the interview."

Natalia stared at Ryan dumbfounded as she asked, "You're kidding." Noticing Ryan's serious expression Natalia realized he wasn't. She added, "H needs to still be in the hospital after what happened."

Ryan chuckled softly as he smiled at the shocked brunette, "You know how he is. Checked himself out this morning and came straight to the lab. Calleigh's not too happy about it. By the way, have you…noticed something going on there?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know…um, romantically. She stayed in his room at the hospital…it's just…" he noticed Natalia was becoming agitated.

"Just what Ryan?"

"Hey, if there is…I don't have a problem with it. It's just IAB will."

"Well, we'll just keep it between the team so they won't find out about them, IF in fact there is something going on." Natalia smiled warmly as she continued, "I think it would be great for both of them…a relationship budding besides their professional one. They both deserve some happiness in life," she smiled as she punched the button on her phone that would connect her to Horatio.

"Horatio, Ms. Harrison was not only raped, ah…" Tom Lohman, the department's medical examiner paused, and then pulled in a deep breath before continuing, "By the normal way, if you could describe it as normal at all, but with this as well."

The doctor held up a medium-sized toy truck. "I think the use of this may have had a dual meaning. It was still in place at the time of her death."

Horatio looked away in frustration as he blinked back the anger that welled from deep inside of him.

Calleigh asked, "Was the rape pre or post-mortem?"

Tom winced as he replied, "Unfortunately, pre."

"COD for both doctor?" Horatio asked the man in a curt tone desiring for him to get to the point.

"Asphyxiation was COD for Ms. Harrison. She struggled. It took a couple of minutes before…death. At least her sister's was instantaneous…broken neck."

Horatio stood, he'd heard enough. "I'll be waiting for your completed report," he softly said before turning and walking toward the door. As he approached the door, his cell phone signaled an incoming call. Natalia's name appeared on the screen.

"Ms. Boa Vista…." He listened as Natalia explained about the neighbor waiting in the interview room and responded, "I'm on my way."

Turning his head toward Calleigh as she stopped beside him he begin explaining where he was going,

"Natalia was able to convince one of Shante's neighbors to come in. I'm going to interview her, and then I'll be in my office."

"I'll go get started on the bullets waiting in my lab. See you later," Calleigh replied as she squeezed his arm.

Calleigh tried to smile, but she noticed Horatio was already looking tired. _At least he'll sit down to do the interview._

After speaking to Ms. Hobbs, Horatio walked down the hall and began to slowly climb the stairs leading to his office. He continued to mentally go over the evidence and concluded that with an eye-witness placing Ricardo in the vicinity; they had more than enough to get a conviction, _now the problem was finding him._

* * *

Lara watched the Lieutenant walk toward his office, her smile devious. She pulled off her lab coat and hung it on the rack against the wall of the DNA lab, before walking into trace to tell Ryan she was leaving.

She opened the door and stuck her head inside the room where Walter and Ryan were working.

"Hey Ryan, I completed the fingerprints except for one set that's running in the international database. I need a couple of hours to take care of a personal matter, and by then I should have results from the search."

"Ok, see you later," Ryan answered, barely looking up from his work.

Walter glanced over at Ryan as he commented, "Lara's a good addition to the team. She's smart."

"Yeah, I agree. H sure knows how to pick'em."

Lara's first stop was to the employee locker room. Once there, she walked to her locker and spun the combination lock on the door and then opened it. Reaching up to the shelf, she pulled out a folder. Taking a quick look at the contents she then closed the file, shut and locked the door back, then turned and walked out carrying the folder in her hand. _Here we go…time to set my plan in motion._

The elevator door opened on the sixth floor and she strode out, exuding confidence on the outside, but internally, her nerves were on edge. _This is a big step, but I won't be intimidated. I'm doing this for Marisol.._

She stood for a moment outside the glass double doors that held the insignia and title of the department. **Miami-Dade Police Division of Internal Affairs **was the lettering on the doors**.** She pulled in a deep breath and pushed the door open and stepped inside. Walking to the woman behind the reception desk Lara announced,

"I'm CSI Aislara Mendoza, I have an appointment with Captain Moorehead."

* * *

Around one-thirty that afternoon, Calleigh just shook her head as she stood in the doorway watching Horatio so deep in thought while clearing the stacks of paperwork awaiting his signature on top of his desk.

She knocked softly on the door and when he looked up, she smiled as she held up a sack containing a couple of sandwiches and a drink caddy loaded with two cups of hot coffee.

"I bet…you didn't remember lunch?"

Horatio shyly looked down at his desk before quickly looking back up with a smile for the beautiful blonde walking towards him.

"What would I do without you?"

"Well, you'd probably miss lunch and a dose of your medicine," she teased as she flashed her radiant smile at him.

She pulled a chair up to his desk and sat down before peeling back the paper from around the sandwiches, while Horatio took the coffees out and began taking the lids off.

"Sweetheart, I found the uh, elusive folder on my desk."

Calleigh abruptly stopped what she was doing and asked with a stunned expression on her face,

"Where was it?"

"On top of this stack of papers," he patted the spot with his hand.

"Horatio, that folder was not there a couple of days ago. I swear it wasn't. I told you about finding your office unlocked."

Horatio noticed her demeanor immediately turned defensive.

"Calleigh, it's alright. I believe you. Walter may have just forgotten to leave it on my desk and put it here recently. I asked Joan to put a note in his messages for him to come to my office when he returns from lunch. I'm sure we'll find that's all it was and perhaps he just failed to lock my door back."

They both knew how dependable Walter was though and that fact caused concern, despite Horatio's attempt to explain it away. Calleigh couldn't stop the feeling of uneasiness creeping up from the pit of her stomach.

Having finished their lunch, they were drinking the last of the coffee when Walter appeared at Horatio's door.

"H, you need to see me?"

"Yes Walter, come in. A few days ago, after my discussion with Brian, I asked you to put a folder that I had with me at the time, on my desk. Do you remember if you did that?"

"Yeah H, I did. I came straight here and put it down on top of your desk, in the center, where you'd be sure to see it and then locked your office door on my way out because you said you'd be a while getting back."

Horatio looked over at Calleigh, and then returned his eyes to Walter.

"You found it didn't you?"

"Um….yes, yes Walter I found it. It's just Calleigh couldn't find it while I was in the hospital, but when I came in today, it was on top of a stack of paperwork."

Walter blew out a soft breath and looked greatly relieved. _I'm glad nothing happened to that folder. It would be a major problem if it got into the wrong hands, especially for H._

After Walter left, Calleigh and Horatio sat in silence for a few minutes.

Finally Calleigh broke the silence. "If anyone else saw those pictures of Brian with Ricardo and the fact they didn't get checked into evidence…"

"Sweetheart, the two people who've seen them besides us, I trust completely."

"_Are_ you going to submit them as evidence?"

Horatio's lips thinned as he replied, "I have to Sweetheart, but not yet."

* * *

After leaving Horatio's office and before heading back to ballistics, Calleigh decided to go up to the sixth floor to see a friend who was expecting her first child and worked in MPD's EEOC office adjacent to Internal Affairs.

Exiting the elevator, Calleigh walked past the dreaded IAB door while taking a quick glance inside, she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the familiar brunette smiling and speaking to Captain Moorehead as they stood at his office door. _Why is Lara in there speaking with Moorehead? What possible reason…_

"Calleigh…" A voice called out from behind her startling her momentarily.

The blonde CSI turned and found her friend had walked up behind her.

Recovering quickly, Calleigh responded, "Oh, hi Angie. I was just coming to see you."

Turning slightly to the side to check on Lara, Calleigh realized the meeting had ended and Lara was about to walk away from the Captain.

"Let's go to your office where we can visit a few minutes." Calleigh steered her friend toward the door leading to her friend's office and had just entered when Lara walked out of IAB.

Angie noticed her friend's troubled expression.

"Calleigh are you alright? You're acting a little nervous."

Hesitating for a few seconds, Calleigh replied, "Um, yeah. Yeah I'm fine," forcing a smile. "How are you doing?"

The two friends visited for a few minutes and then Calleigh made her way back to the lab. Thoughts about Lara's possible involvement with the dreaded IA raced through her mind as she rode down in the elevator. _I need to tell Horatio what I saw, but first, I want to find Lara. I want to know what business she had with Moorehead._

Calleigh saw Lara talking with Natalia in DNA as she approached.

Hearing the door open, the two women looked around and saw Calleigh standing just inside,

"Lara, may I speak with you in the locker room for a minute?"

Lara looked back at Natalia and shrugged her shoulders as Calleigh stepped back out into the hall and waited for the CSI to join her.

As she walked towards the blonde CSI, Lara could feel the daggers being shot her way.

"Calleigh, what did you need to speak to me about?"

"Let's wait until we get to the locker room, shall we?"

Once inside the large room, Calleigh walked to the furthest wall before she spun around and in a low firm voice asked,

"Why were you in Internal Affairs a little while ago?"

The question shook Lara to the core. Trying to come up with an answer, her heart began pounding loudly. Lara decided to play innocent and tried to respond with a calm voice, but she wasn't sure if it actually sounded steady.

"What are you talking about?" Lara shot back.

"Don't try to play the innocent game with me honey; I can assure you it won't work."

Lara's nervousness instantly changed to anger as she lashed out,

"What I do on my personal time, is none of your business." Lara laughed inside as Calleigh's eyes blazed. "Yes, I was on my own time – ask Ryan."

"I don't care if it was personal time; we don't talk to IA unless we are summoned to do so."

"You can't tell me what to do bitch," Lara growled as she stepped close to Calleigh's face.

That's all it took for Calleigh to lose her cool. She shoved Lara into the bank of lockers and the action startled Lara.

"You bet I can tell you what to do. I'm the assistant supervisor of this lab and its staff. I better not ever catch you going to IA again without being summoned. Do you understand?"

Lara shook her head that she did and Calleigh stepped back and then added, "If you tell anyone about our discussion, I'll deny it; and another thing, stay away from Horatio unless it's about police business."

Calleigh slung her long blonde hair around as she turned and briskly walked out, leaving a fuming Lara behind. _You may have won this battle Blondie, but let's see how well you fare next time._

* * *

The red ball that was the sun had just slipped below the horizon when Horatio and Calleigh arrived at his condo. They had stopped at Horatio's favorite little Italian restaurant for pasta after leaving the lab and they were both tired after a stressful day. Horatio felt as if he'd been drug behind a truck. He could hardly put one foot in front of the other and then stopped once inside the foyer. He immediately turned and looked at Calleigh as he asked,

"Have you given more thought to staying with a tired, hurting old man?"

Calleigh smiled as she stood on her tip-toes and placed a tender kiss on his cheek.

"I'm staying," she answered softly as her arm snaked around his waist.

They walked to the master bedroom with their arms around each other. Horatio headed straight for the bed and eased down. Calleigh helped him out of his suit coat and he slipped his shoes off. She then wondered if he needed help getting out of his shirt and pants.

Horatio sensed her hesitation. "If you'll help me up, I'll undress the rest of the way in the bathroom and get a shower."

Calleigh reached for his arm, but Horatio stopped her.

"I'm too heavy for you Sweetheart. I can manage if you'll just keep me from falling sideways." Horatio eased up and Calleigh walked beside him to the door of the bathroom.

"I'm glad you went on and logged the pictures into evidence before we left. I don't think there'll be any questions asked since you were hospitalized right after obtaining them."

Horatio turned towards Calleigh and responded, "I'm glad I did too. Thank you for encouraging me."

She began to gently caress the side of his face, "Want me to help you get cleaned up?" Her face immediately turned a bright shade of crimson when the realization hit her of how her question sounded. Horatio smiled at her reaction.

"I can manage everything, but getting the dressing off and putting another on. But, one day, hopefully soon…I hope you'll offer again."

Horatio leaned in and brushed his lips over hers then quickly captured her lips in a deep, sensual kiss that she returned.

Later as she listened to Horatio's steady breathing as he slipped into much-needed sleep, while her mind wandered back to the scene of Lara with Captain Moorehead. _I just couldn't tell Horatio about it right now…he has so much on his mind and he's exhausted trying to recover from his injury while working too. Maybe it was nothing, but unfortunately I just feel that won't be the case._

**TBC…**


	11. Chapter 11

**Revelations**

**Chapter 11**

Alexx and Brian were silently sitting at the table after finishing breakfast when Brian looked across at his mother, frustration very evident in his tone when he asked,

"Seems like we are never gonna get out of here. Why hasn't Uncle Horatio caught Ricardo? Or is _that_ ever going to happen?"

Alexx finished taking a sip of her coffee, noting the exasperation in her son's voice.

Reaching across the table, she squeezed her son's before she replied,

"Brian, Honey, these things just take time. Horatio is doing all he can. He left the hospital before he should have because of the urgency to find Ricardo. Everyone is working hard on this case so we can have our life back. We just need to be patient."

The swinging door then opened leading into the kitchen causing Alexx to turn and see Calleigh entering first, and then Horatio walked in behind her.

Alexx jumped to her feet and ran to her friends.

"What a sight for sore eyes!"

Alexx hugged Calleigh and asked how she was feeling, then centered her attention on Horatio. She detected the pain he was in by looking into his eyes. Moving over to him, she gently drew him into an embrace. Then as she stepped back she said,

"Horatio, you should be in bed, not running around the city hunting criminals."

Horatio smiled, "Calleigh's a good nurse…she's taking real good care of me Alexx." He smiled as his eyes fell on the blonde.

"How's it going Brian?" Horatio called out to the young man sitting at the table.

"Ok, I guess. Just wish I could be with my friends instead of cooped up here."

Horatio understood the young man's feelings, but at least he was safe, even though unhappy.

"Hang in there son. This'll be over soon, I hope." Brian shrugged at Horatio's answer.

"Horatio, you go lie down on that sofa over there. I want to check that wound and incision of yours."

Horatio looked over at Calleigh and stayed put.

"Alexx, it's ok. Calleigh's been doing everything Dr. Schmidt told her to. I…"

Calleigh began laughing softly noticing the face Horatio was making while balking at following Alexx's order.

"I know she has Horatio, but I said_, I_ want to look at it."

Alexx took his hand and began leading him towards the couch. There was nothing Horatio could do but comply with his friend's request.

* * *

Once they arrived at the lab and each grabbed a cup of coffee, Calleigh left him for the ballistics lab as Horatio headed for his office. He met Lara as she exited the elevator.

"Good morning Lara."

Lara smiled as she returned the greeting.

"Good morning to you Horatio. How are you feeling today?"

"I'm here. I heard you completed the firearms requirement. Congratulations."

"Thank you. It does feel good to finally join the team on call-outs now."

Horatio excused himself after the chit-chat that followed and continued on to his office. Hearing Lara's voice again made him think about his dream. Shaking it off, he unlocked his office door and made his way to his desk that still held stacks of paperwork requiring his attention.

He'd been working about an hour and had made great progress in reducing the stacks before his phone signaled an incoming call. Looking at the screen, he smiled at the name displayed.

"Eric. How are you?" Horatio asked as he answered.

"_Hi H…I think that's my line. I talked to Ryan last night and he told me you'd been shot. Are you in the hospital?" _

Horatio picked up on the concern in his brother-in-law's voice.

"I'm good Eric. Right now, I'm sitting at my desk tackling the paperwork that piled up in the last few days. How's everything going for you at LAPD?"

If Horatio could see Eric's face at the moment, he'd see the young man shaking his head in disbelief concerning Horatio's line claiming he was alright.

"_Ah, you know, same thing that goes on there. You are taking it a little easy, aren't you? You're not working full days yet I hope."_

Horatio smiled, "Eric, really I'm fine. We've got a difficult case on our hands – I need to be here. Calleigh is keeping an eye on me to make sure I take it easy."

On the other end, Calleigh being mentioned, caused Eric to hang his head. _Seems she got over me pretty quick._

"_Just take care of yourself H. Hey, I heard you hired a new CSI, a woman by the name of Lara. Where's she from, Miami?"_

"No, she's from New Mexico - taught forensics at UNM."

There was silence on the other end.

"_H, what's her full name?"_

"I don't think you'd know her Eric, but her name's Aislara Mendoza."

Eric stared out of the large window in his motel room. _Why would Lara go to Miami to work for MPD?_

"_H, I do know her. She was a close friend of Marisol's. They were childhood friends all the way through high school. Mari used to go out to see Lara in the summer every year after Lara's family moved out there. Hasn't she told you?"_

Now it was Horatio's turn to be stunned into silence. _Why has Lara never mentioned this to me? Maybe she doesn't know I was married to Marisol. _Suddenly the wound in Horatio's gut began to ache.

Recovering his voice, Horatio answered, "Um, no…no she hasn't."

"_H, I heard Lara took Mari's death pretty hard. You ought to ask her why she's there working for you."_

At that moment, two men Horatio recognized as IA officers strode through his door and stopped in front of his desk.

"I'll do that. Need to go Eric, talk to you later." Horatio disconnected the call.

Horatio stood, "Gentlemen, what can I help you with?"

"Lieutenant Caine we are here to tell you that you are under investigation for several offenses. Those being, you have fraternized with a subordinate; returned to duty from medical leave without clearance; but the most serious of all, withholding evidence in an ongoing investigation."

Horatio stiffened to his full height even though it was painful for him to do so and then planted his hands on his hips as he glared at the two men.

"You have proof of these allegations?"

"Open your office safe."

Horatio didn't move.

"On whose orders?"

The taller of the two men answered,

"Captain Moorehead. If you fail to comply, we'll have no choice but to place you in handcuffs and lead you out of here in front of your team. I don't think you want us to do that now do you?"

Horatio broke eye contact and looked down at his desk as he clenched his jaw. Walking out from behind his desk, he stopped at the wall safe. Once he opened the door and stepped back, the two men pulled out the contents and rifled through the papers.

"If I knew what you were looking for, I could save you time." Horatio sarcastically exclaimed. He knew what they were looking for and knew they wouldn't find them.

Satisfied the folder was not in the safe, the taller man again commanded,

"Lieutenant…your badge and gun. You are, at this moment, relieved of your command until further investigation."

Horatio responded with a growl, "We're in the middle of a murder investigation involving several people. I need to lead my team."

Unmoved, the man's eyes narrowed, "I won't ask again."

* * *

Meanwhile, Walter had seen the two IA officers headed for Horatio's office and quickly called Calleigh.

When she answered, she immediately detected his anxiousness, "Calleigh, two IA guys just walked up to Horatio's office. What's going on?"

Suddenly, it dawned on her why they were after Horatio._ Lara is behind this…I know she is._

"I'll be right there."

* * *

Horatio was being escorted toward the elevator between the two men when Calleigh arrived. As he walked past her he paused and looked down at the floor before looking up into her concerned eyes. He then tilted his head and gave her a little smile trying to let her know everything would be alright before informing her,

"You're in command Calleigh. I'll talk with you later."

Calleigh stood with the rest of the team and watched as Horatio was ushered into the elevator. Horatio never looked back up as the door slid closed.

Frank Tripp walked up on the group just in time to see Horatio being escorted into the elevator.

"What in the hell is going on here?" Frank glared at the three men before turning toward the CSIs.

"What _IS_ going on…where's Horatio being taken and WHY?" Ryan loudly asked as he spun around and looked straight at Calleigh.

Not answering his question, she responded with a question of her own using a low, angry tone.

"Where is Lara?"

Walter, confused as well about what had just happened answered,

"She's out with Natalia. They're following up on some leads on Ricardo. What does she have to do with this?"

Pulling her cell phone out of her back pants pocket, Calleigh pushed the speed dial to connect with Natalia. Leaving the three confused men standing in the hallway, she almost ran to the elevator and as she waited for the car to arrive, her anger seethed, threatening to lash out at anyone who dared to get in her way.

Frank pulled his cell phone out and punched a number.

"Andy," Frank said as someone obviously answered on the other end. Frank began explaining what he had seen.

As Calleigh ran to her Hummer, with the phone to her ear, Natalia told Calleigh that Lara felt sick and had taken a taxi home earlier leaving her to follow-up the last couple of leads alone. Calleigh ended the call and sat in the Hummer before pulling out of the lab's parking lot, racking her brain as to where Lara had rented an apartment. The woman had told her after being hired, but then it didn't seem important to have to know and she couldn't go back in the lab and access the woman's files without causing suspicion.

* * *

"Lieutenant Caine," Captain Moorehead began, "do you understand why you're being investigated and relieved of duty?"

Standing in front of the Captain's desk, feeling like a misbehaving schoolboy, Horatio refused to make eye contact with the big man who was attempting to keep the smirk off of his face, but failed.

When Horatio did look the man in the eye before responding, his long-standing opinion of the man before him quickly rose to the surface, tempting him to verbally reveal his thoughts, but he managed to keep the fact that he thought the Captain was a self-serving prick to himself.

"I was told what you think I'm guilty of, yes."

The Captain leaned on his elbows, propped on the desktop as he positioned himself closer to the Lieutenant and asked,

"Where have you hidden the folder with the photographs of your friend's son and a known felon together?"

Horatio's mouth formed a tight smile as he took his time answering the question.

Keeping the smile on his face, he tilted his head to the side and answered, "I _hid _them in plain sight – in the evidence locker. If you'll call down, I'm sure someone will verify that for you."

Horatio noticed the color drain from the big man's face as he slowly sat back in his chair. He motioned for one of the two men standing just behind Horatio to check on it.

Moving on in his questioning, Captain Moorehead point-blank asked,

"How long have you been in a relationship with your subordinate, Calleigh Duquesne?"

Horatio glared at the man.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she stayed with you and shirked her duties, Lieutenant. What she did, is not common practice among colleagues. It goes a step further, similar to say," the man paused and cleared his throat before placing emphasis on the last part of his statement, "like that of a paid nursemaid."

Horatio could barely contain his anger; it took every ounce of restraint to keep from jumping over the desk and punching the smirk off the Captain's face.

His voice steady, smooth and deep, belying how he really felt, Horatio responded,

"Ms. Duquesne accompanied me to the hospital and stayed in what I know was a very uncomfortable chair until I awoke the next morning. She then left me and worked a full shift leading the team in my absence. Only when she herself was injured on a call-out did she stay in my room again. But, I can assure you, it was purely innocent. The hospital staff can verify the details for you." Horatio stood clenching his jaw still trying to contain his angry feelings. _Although I can't say the same for a night later on, but that's my business, not yours._

At that moment, the door to the office opened and Chief Stoddard walked in, visibly angry.

"What's the meaning of this Moorehead?" The chief growled out.

The Captain quickly stood and stammered as he addressed the angry police chief and began pointing out to him the reasons Lieutenant Caine was being questioned. When he finished, the man who had left to verify if the pictures were logged in, returned and reluctantly told the Captain that the Lieutenant was correct. The pictures were in evidence.

"Well that should clear Caine of any wrongdoing. As for the other, I will investigate your flimsy case against him, but in the meantime, give his badge and gun back to him. He's in the middle of a murder investigation."

Horatio and the chief walked out of IAB together. As they walked toward the elevator, Horatio turned and quietly said,

"Thanks Andy for the rescue. They didn't have anything…just fishing."

"Because of the seriousness of this murder case, I'll overlook the fact that you should be on medical leave. But, when this investigation is over Horatio, you and I need to have a serious talk about your intentions concerning Ms. Duquesne."

Horatio jerked his head around and noted the slight smile on the chief's face.

Returning to the lab, Horatio stepped into trace and the sound caused Ryan to look up to see who entered.

Shocked and relieved to see the Lieutenant back he spoke up, "H, everything ok?"

"Mr. Wolfe, where's Calleigh? She's not in ballistics."

* * *

It finally came to Calleigh that Lara told her she'd found a place in the Ocean Trace Village, in Coral Gables. She parked the Hummer and walked to the main entrance of the building. Perusing a board that held the names of tenants beside buttons used to contact each apartment, she found L. Mendoza among the list and pushed the button.

**TBC…**


	12. Chapter 12

**Revelations**

**Chapter 12**

Calleigh flinched as the cold, hard steel pressed into the back of her neck.

"You didn't disappoint. I thought you'd come once I set my plan into motion, but I'm afraid you won't live long enough to see how it ends. You should have minded your own business and not gotten involved."

Calleigh swallowed hard before answering firmly,

"This won't work Lara. You'll be hunted down like a dog when I don't return to the lab."

"Oh, but my dear…your knight in shining armor is…shall we say…incapacitated for a while. He might eventually figure everything out, but by that time, I'll be out of the country, but enough chit-chat. We're going to slowly walk to my car and if you make one wrong move, I promise Horatio's career will not only be finished, but his life as well. Now MOVE!"

Lara made sure to make it seem as they walked that they were two close friends, except Calleigh could feel the gun pressed against her ribs. Her mind was frantically trying to think of a way out of the mess she'd gotten herself into._ Is Lara really capable of murder?_

* * *

As Ryan steered the speeding Hummer around the traffic using the siren and lights to part the heavy Friday traffic on the expressway leading to Coral Gables, Horatio was holding the handle above his head, grimacing with each swerve as he felt the g-forces pulling on his injury. He thought _I would endure anything to protect Calleigh_. No amount of pain would deter him from making sure she was alright.

_Why did she go after Lara? Did she figure out something was not kosher with the woman? Why didn't she let me know if she did? If something happens to Calleigh... _Horatio hung his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Ryan stole a glance over at his passenger, worrying if the rough ride was hurting his boss.

"H, you alright?"

"I'm good Mr. Wolfe. Don't worry about me. It's Calleigh we need to worry about."

"What's with Lara? I can't believe she'd do anything to Calleigh."

Horatio turned his head toward Ryan and softly answered,

"I don't know what the woman is capable of."

Ryan pressed the accelerator harder as an uneasy feeling washed over him. _At least Horatio agreed to let me drive. I've never seen him like he was at the lab when he found out Calleigh went to find Lara. It was difficult at first convincing him that he couldn't drive. I'm glad my reasoning to the fact that if he did drive, he'd be in no condition to handle the situation once he arrived, worked._

Approaching the high-rise apartment building, both men noticed Calleigh's Hummer parked in the front parking lot. Ryan stopped their Hummer under the canopy outside the front door of the building. Horatio immediately opened the passenger side door, and then gingerly slid off the seat. He stood for a moment holding the door of the vehicle, attempting to get his equilibrium right again, before joining Ryan walking up to the door of the building.

Horatio pushed the button for the office and the two men waited. Horatio was becoming more fidgety when it seemed no one was going to answer. Finally, a deep man's voice greeted them,

"Manager," the voice exuded a curt tone.

"This is Lieutenant Horatio Caine with Miami-Dade Police. I need access to a tenant's apartment."

There was silence until they heard a buzz at the door and the sound of a lock disengaging. Both men walked inside the well-appointed lobby. They'd stood for only a few seconds before a tall, graying haired man approached.

Horatio showed the man his badge and Ryan did the same as they made quick introductions. The manager introduced himself as Buck Thomas.

"We don't want no trouble here. This is a high-end property. What tenant are you inquiring about?"

Horatio positioned himself in a sideways stance to the man before answering, "Aislara Mendoza."

The man's face screwed up in disbelief. "She works at your place. Nice woman, always a nice word when she meets you. What's the problem?"

"We just need to speak to her," Horatio offered.

"Well," the man jerked his head toward the front door, "you just missed her. Lara and a blonde headed woman just left about five minutes ago."

Ryan quickly looked over at Horatio and both men exchanged a brief expression of concern.

"Did you happen to see what type of car they were in and which way they went?" Horatio hurriedly asked.

"Matter of fact I did. I walked out to check on the plants out front when I saw them walking to Lara's new, gray Toyota Camry. They were too far away so I didn't talk to them, but I noticed the car turned left out of the parking lot and headed east. The strange thing is I only saw Lara in the car as it left."

"Thank you Buck," Horatio managed to say before turning and quickly walking toward the door, pulling out his cell phone as he went.

Making a connection, Horatio loudly instructed, "Frank, get a bird in the air. Put out a BOLO on a gray 2013 Toyota Camry, belonging to Lara Mendoza. It's heading east from Coral Gables near Albright and Lexington. And Frank, Calleigh's in that car, possibly being held at gunpoint."

Frank answered sharply, "_On it H_."

"Let's go Mr. Wolfe. We need to find that car."

Ryan turned the Hummer east on Lexington. They'd travelled about ten miles when Horatio's phone signaled an incoming call.

"Caine," Horatio abruptly answered.

Frank began, _"Chopper spotted a late-model Camry fitting the description turning on Wilshire headed southeast."_

"Wilshire… they're headed to the bay," Ryan exclaimed.

Horatio addressed Frank, "We're ten minutes from the area. Tell them to stick with the car, but stay back. I don't want Lara spooked."

"Will do. I'm fifteen minutes out headed your way," Frank told him.

Horatio turned his head toward the passenger window and stared out at the buildings as they sped past. _I hired this woman. If I'd just known…."_ He squeezed his eyes closed; an uneasy feeling gripped his heart.

* * *

Calleigh shifted her body as she gradually realized that her arms were pulled behind her. The cold metal of handcuffs pinched her wrists. _Where am I? The last thing I remember was getting in Lara's car and then feeling a sharp sting on my neck._ As Calleigh's awareness increased, she concluded that she was lying on the backseat of a moving car. Her vision sharpened after rapidly blinking several times and she found herself looking straight at the back of Lara's head, but felt sluggish.

"Why…are you…doing this? What has Horatio ever done to you?"

"_WHY?"_ Because of him, someone who I loved dearly was murdered. Marisol's not supposed to be dead."

_Marisol? Lara was friends with Marisol? Oh my lord, she's retaliating against Horatio!_

Her voice shaky, "You're not…going to get away." Calleigh declared as her wrists strained testing the tension on the handcuffs.

Lara laughed loudly at Calleigh's statement.

"You keep on thinking that. I haven't seen blue lights yet. Horatio is still tied up with IA and the rest of the team is busy on the case. They won't come looking for you until it's too late."

Lara turned the car on a gravel road and drove to the end before turning to the right and coming to a stop.

* * *

His cell phone vibrated in his hand and he quickly pushed the answer button.

"_Horatio, the officer from the chopper said the car turned off on Matheson Park, a small gravel road leading to a private pier. There's a mid-sized cruiser tied there."_

"Tell them to stand by. We're on Old Cutler Road about a mile away."

"_See you there Horatio."_

Ryan turned off the flashing lights and siren and they rode the rest of the way in silence.

Slowly, Ryan guided the Hummer around the corner to Matheson.

"Mr. Wolf, stop just before the curve ahead."

They saw Lara's car parked between the pier and a large storage building, "What's your plan H?"

Horatio slowly turned and looked over at the young CSI as he answered, "To do whatever it takes to keep Calleigh from getting hurt."

"If you are planning to go on alone, forget it. I'm not letting you."

Then the two men's attention was suddenly drawn to the scene down the road. A woman screamed and Calleigh ran from the car toward the building, disappearing through the large doorway. A few seconds later, Lara pursued the blonde brandishing a gun.

Horatio unfastened his seatbelt. Then, he turned to Ryan and quickly instructed,

"Mr. Wolfe if we both approach, the risk of Calleigh getting hurt increases. Stay close, but stay out of sight. That's an order. When Frank and the cavalry arrive, tell them to do the same. You'll know when it's time." Horatio's last statement worried the young CSI.

Ryan quickly moved the vehicle closer and then watched as Horatio left the SUV and almost ran to the large opening. After reaching the building, he flattened himself against the outside wall and listened, his wound throbbing from all the movement.

In one quick move, Horatio silently rounded the door frame with his 9mm held high as he scanned the area in front of him down the barrel of his gun._ Where are you Sweetheart?_ He followed Lara's voice calling out to Calleigh, threatening to find her.

The building housed rows of private boats stacked on racks from the floor to the ceiling, some of great size. Horatio eased silently along the stacks, moving from the end of one row to another, carefully looking down each opening between on both sides until he reached the end and gradually leaned out just far enough to see around the last boat. Calleigh was sitting haphazardly on the floor with her back to a boat at the opposite end of the row. The one positive was that she had managed to slip her hands to the front. To him, it appeared that she had slipped and fallen, giving Lara the opportunity to catch up with her. Then what Horatio saw caused his heart to stop. Lara was standing in front of Calleigh with a gun pointed directly at her.

Frank followed by three patrol cars arrived and parked around the Hummer. The big detective ran up to Ryan where the CSI stood outside of the building looking very concerned.

"Where's H?" Frank quickly asked, keeping his voice low.

Ryan answered softly, "Inside. He followed Calleigh and Lara. Calleigh got away and ran into this building. Um, Lara's armed."

"Damn Ryan; Horatio isn't in any condition to be in a situation like this."

The young man's face was crestfallen, his voice pleading as he shot back, "I know. He wouldn't let me go with him. What was I supposed to do?"

Frank tightened his lips and shook his head, "Not a hell of a lot when it comes to H."

"C'mon, let's back him up." Frank instructed the officers to stay outside before he and Ryan eased through the wide door.

Horatio quickly moved back out of sight. _I've got to distract her._ Sliding his weapon back in it's sheath, he took a deep breath and stepped from behind the boat, and began slowly walking toward the women.

It took a few seconds for the movement to catch Lara's eye, but when her eyes diverted from Calleigh for a split second, her shock at seeing Horatio was very evident on her face.

Lara immediately moved around beside Calleigh and grabbed a handful of the blonde's hair, while leveling her gun at the woman's head.

"That's far enough Horatio."

Calleigh couldn't turn her head, but she cut her eyes to the right and could just see Horatio standing a few feet away. _Horatio! Where's your gun? Why are you approaching without your gun?_

"Lara…put the gun down. You don't want to hurt Calleigh."

"I _will _if you come a step closer."

"What has Calleigh done to you? It's me that you want…am I right? You were close friends with Marisol weren't you?"

Calleigh was shocked. _Lara was friends with Marisol?_

"Yes…yes I was. Because of you she was killed. I found out that she had survived her cancer…and then was murdered instead of you. It should have been you that was killed!"

Horatio hung his head, as the guilt squeezed his heart. After a few seconds, he looked up at the Latin woman who was threatening to take Calleigh's life because of him, and he made up his mind right then, he wasn't going to allow that to happen again.

"That's right Lara. I've lived with the guilt of what happened that day and I will for the rest of my life. Lara, it's me that you want. Let Calleigh go."

Frank and Ryan could hear Horatio talking at the opposite end of the building. As quietly as possible, they made their way toward his voice.

"Lara…give me the gun," Horatio softly beckoned as he stepped closer, holding out his hand. "I can help you, just don't hurt Calleigh. If you want to hurt someone…I'm here…I'm the person you want to hurt."

_No…Horatio don't do this…PLEASE don't do this! Wait for backup…_Calleigh screamed silently.

Horatio's calm voice offering himself to Lara in place of Calleigh, began to unsettle the Latin woman. She knew she was caught…her career down the tubes. She was undoubtedly looking at a few years in prison and she was fully aware of what would happen to her there.

"Lara…"Horatio called out.

To Calleigh, the action of the next few seconds seemed to evolve in slow motion. Lara turned the gun toward Horatio and fired. Calleigh watched in horror as Horatio lifted off his feet and spun around from the bullet's impact, and then his body fell limply to the concrete floor.

Calleigh acted out of pure rage. She was on her feet in a flash, ignoring the woman's grip on her hair and with all of her strength she slammed into Lara, catching the woman off-guard and both went tumbling down to the floor with Calleigh landing on top of the brunette. Calleigh swung her handcuffed hands with all of her might making contact with Lara's head, rendering the woman unconscious. Lara's hand let go of the gun and it slid across the slick floor.

Frank and Ryan ran toward the sound of the gunshot and when they rounded the last row of boats, found Horatio on the floor gasping for breath and Calleigh scrambling to get off of Lara who was lying limp on the floor, as she screamed Horatio's name.

**TBC…**


	13. Chapter 13

**Revelations**

**Chapter 13**

Horatio was attempting to push up on his hands and knees from the floor as he coughed and gasped for breath. The impact of the bullet was more severe than he thought it would be. Suddenly, his movement steadied because of a pair of strong hands and he relaxed in their grip on his arms and followed the movement to roll over on his back.

His ears picked up on Frank's familiar gruff voice, "Damn it H, what have you gone and done?"

Then he felt a pair of soft hands cup his face, compelling him to open his eyes. Calleigh was leaning over him with tears streaming down her face as her lower lip quivered an indicator of the foreboding she felt inside. Ryan had unlocked and removed her handcuffs, freeing her hands.

Between gasps, Horatio struggled to calm her down.

"Calleigh…Sweetheart…I'm ok…I'm ok."

He reached up and took one of her hands from his face and placed it on his chest. When her hand felt the hard surface under his shirt her eyes immediately locked with his and her breath caught. For only a few times in his career, today, he'd put on a Kevlar vest before leaving the lab.

With an incredulous, barely audible voice she declared, "You…you wore a vest?"

Horatio smiled and then it faded as he asked, "Are…you alright?"

She sat back on her heels wiping the tears from her cheeks with a shaky hand as she answered,

"I am now."

Ryan and Frank looked at each other as they stood on either side of the couple and exchanged looks of relief. Then to their shock, Calleigh leaned over Horatio and in one quick move, planted a passionate kiss on his lips, not caring that they were on duty, only breaking away when he began coughing.

Between coughs, Horatio sputtered, "CALLEIGH!"

Frank joked knowing his friends were alright and laughed as he said, "Calleigh seems to think Horatio needs CPR! That should do the trick!" Ryan laughed at the big detective's comment, relieved that the situation was over.

Paramedics arrived and Calleigh finally convinced Horatio to let them look at him even though he balked, claiming he wasn't injured enough for that, just bruised. They examined his chest and then redressed his earlier gunshot wound because the forceful movement had caused it to start bleeding.

As he sat on the gurney, he looked across at the backend of the ambulance and watched the paramedics finish treating Lara. The uniformed officers then placed her hands behind her and put her in handcuffs. As they walked past Horatio and Calleigh, Lara paused and stared at Horatio.

"You were willing to die for her. Why couldn't you have done that for Marisol?"

Horatio hung his head as the guilt washed over him, just as it had done so many times through the years. The officers then quickly led her away to a patrol car.

Calleigh tried to counter Lara's hurtful statement, knowing that it deeply affected him.

"Don't listen to her Horatio. You would have done the same for Marisol had you been able to."

Horatio reached over and squeezed her hand, but didn't answer.

Finally, after a couple of minutes, he turned and looked at her and said,

"Let's call it a day and go home Sweetheart."

* * *

Calleigh could hardly get Horatio to eat any dinner that night as they sat out on his balcony. He had only taken a couple of bites of his sandwich when he pushed the plate away, instead he picked up his glass of wine and finished it in a couple of swallows.

"You need to eat more than that Handsome if you want to get your strength back."

He looked out into the darkness and listened to the breaking waves down below; a sound that never failed to soothe him - a steady sound that always enabled him to think clearer.

Suddenly he suggested, " A walk down to the beach might help."

Calleigh knew Horatio was probably still shaken by the afternoon events and she had to admit, she was too._ Maybe the walk will help us both._

As they walked out on the beach with their arms wrapped around each other's waist, Calleigh glanced up at the stars, now that they were away from the lights and thought she'd never seen so many spread across the black velvety night sky before. Then her eyes fell on Horatio. The moonlight highlighting his face and auburn hair against the black background, instantly brought tears to her eyes as the thought entered her mind of how, in the last few days, she'd come so close to losing this wonderful man, twice. _Lara was right about one thing, he is my knight in shining armor._ Her hand gently rubbed up and down on his back, causing him to hug her closer as he looked down and softly kissed her forehead as he asked,

"Have you talked with your father lately?"

"I did yesterday. He's busy with a court case and I'm glad – it's kept him out of the bars."

Horatio smiled slightly and replied, "Good."

Stopping at the water's edge, they stood in silence. Horatio felt Calleigh shiver from the cool night air blowing from behind them towards the water and pulled her close as he wrapped her open jacket around her. Calleigh didn't say anything, sensing that Horatio seemed to be working through something in his mind.

"Sweetheart," he began as he turned and wrapped both of his arms around her, pulling her against his chest, "there are some things we need to discuss."

Responding as her cheek rested against his chest she said, "If it's about the kiss I gave you…I was just so relieved you were ok, I just wasn't thinking clearly. I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have done that in front of the others."

He chuckled at her response. With his hands gently grasping her upper arms, he slowly pushed her back, just enough so he could see her beautiful green eyes reflecting the moonlight while responding,

"I have to admit, it was a shock, but a nice one. We probably shouldn't make it a habit though Sweetheart, but there are more serious things that we need to talk about."

Calleigh tipped her head to the side and looked up into his concerned face as her fingers touched his chin lightly.

Horatio began, "Are you willing to put your career in jeopardy because of me?"

"Nobody knows about us but the team. They wouldn't talk to anyone."

Horatio grimaced, "Sweetheart, IAB knows something. I suspect Lara told them. And the chief suspects. He wants me to discuss with him, as he put it, 'about my intentions concerning you.'"

Calleigh placed her forehead on Horatio's chest and sucked in a deep breath.

"I'm so sorry Horatio. I know this doesn't look good for you being my supervisor…"

"Shhh…" he responded. "It's not me I'm worried about. Sweetheart, you have a lot of years left in your career – not so with me. I would never do anything to jeopardize your future."

Calleigh quickly looked up at him and answered, "Without you, I have no future."

Horatio smiled and gently pushed her hair back from her face as he searched her eyes and then slowly leaned in and brushed her lips lightly with his before pressing harder. She parted her lips and the passion she felt took her breath away.

* * *

Frank and Alexx sat in the living room having finished dinner, each enjoying a glass of wine as he recounted the afternoon's events.

"What are we going to do with those two? They both put themselves in dangerous situations. At least Horatio thought about protecting himself for a change." Then Alexx's thoughts seemed to drift and she smiled, "Maybe Calleigh is good for him."

Frank moved closer and put his arm around Alexx's shoulders.

"I know someone who's good for me."

She put her glass down on the table beside the sofa and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I could say the same."

**TBC…**

**A/N: A warm "thank you" to all my readers and reviewers. Your support is very much appreciated. To my American readers, have an enjoyable and safe 4th of July holiday! **

**I wanted to post this short chapter as quickly as possible, because I do not enjoy leaving readers hanging for too long! There will be more to come...**


	14. Chapter 14

**Revelations **

**Chapter 14**

Calleigh smiled as she turned off the alarm before it sounded so it wouldn't wake Horatio. She then carefully rolled over and watched him sleeping, for a few minutes as he lay on his side, facing her. _He was exhausted last night; we stayed up way too long talking when he should have been sleeping._ She smiled as a thought crossed her mind; _I've come to love waking up next to him in the morning. His face is so peaceful at this time of the day, before the onslaught of worries and problems that sometimes overwhelm him on the job. Well, this morning Handsome, YOU are going to get the rest you need so much and I am going in to cover for you at the lab._

Later that morning as she walked into her ballistics lab with a mug of hot steaming coffee, her phone chimed that she had a call. Looking at the screen she smiled. She had been anticipating his call and had prepared to counter his displeasure.

"Good morning Handsome," she answered sweetly.

"_Calleigh Duquesne…why on earth didn't you wake me? Do you realize how late I am? And how am I supposed to get to the lab – call a taxi?"_ She smiled at his frenzied tone of voice before she responded,

"I didn't wake you because you needed your rest and because of the fact that you are NOT coming to the lab. You mister, are going to stay home today. I'm handling the lab."

"_But Sweetheart, with me out the day shift is short by two people. I need…"_

"YOU need to stay put, or would you prefer that I ask Frank to bring Alexx over to babysit you all day?" She grinned as she imagined the look on Horatio's face at that suggestion.

There were a couple of moments of silence before he answered in a defeated tone, _"Alright…you win. But, what am I supposed to do all day?"_

"Rest - that's what you're going to do. I left your breakfast in the warmer drawer of the oven. For lunch there's crab pasta salad in the refrigerator along with some steamed zucchini. I also made you some sweet tea; I know how you love it."

Horatio chuckled as he replied, _"Thank you. At least you left me something to eat. You, Calleigh Marie Duquesne are one persistent woman… but I do love you."_

She smiled and then looked around to make sure she was still alone and answered,

"I love you Handsome, now rest so you will heal and get better."

"_I want to get better for you Sweetheart. Call me if you need me." _

After saying goodbye to Horatio, Calleigh began walking around her lab, checking to make sure Scott, the ballistics expert on the night shift, had everything back in its right place. She would be the first to admit that she had a fetish about everything remaining orderly in _her _domain. She was glad that the man was almost as OCD as she was about this lab, but he wasn't quite up to her level.

Sitting down after completing her inspection, she began to seriously think about her career as she sipped her coffee. _As usual, Horatio is right – we're going to have to make changes in our lives, but I'm not putting my career ahead of him, neither will I allow Horatio to leave the lab just so we can have a relationship. This lab, his team, it's his life. He's worked too hard to make it the best crime lab in the state and if truth be told, one of the best in the country. _She thought about her options, which weren't many, but still, she had a couple to choose from.

_I could either teach at the academy, or transfer to SWAT. Captain Taylor has always told me since the time I helped out temporarily in SWAT, that the door would always be open if I decided to leave the lab. I certainly didn't want to join SWAT then and leave Horatio, but now we wouldn't be apart except during the day…. I need to take a little time and consider my choices. I'd miss this lab, _she thought as she slowly looked around the large room, taking in every detail, as if committing it to memory, _but I love Horatio more and now, I know he loves me._

* * *

After eating breakfast, Horatio walked out on the balcony with his coffee, drawing in a deep breath of the warm salty air blowing inland off of the water. He leaned over the edge as he propped one of his forearms on the railing while sipping his coffee, looking out across the blue-green ocean stretched before him under a clear blue sky. From behind his sunglasses he began to scan the beach below and watched as a young couple walked hand in hand laughing while their dog ran in and out of the surf. The sight made him smile. _Maybe Calleigh was right. I do feel a little stronger this morning after the good sleep I had last night. Every night is a good night with her lying next to me._

After a while, he sat down at the table and once again, the scene of Lara holding a gun to Calleigh's head flashed through his thoughts. He squeezed his eyes shut as he told himself,_ I could have lost her forever…._ He rubbed his forehead with his free hand, but the memory caused his other hand to loosen the grip on his mug, just enough that it dropped a couple of inches and landed roughly on the glass table top, jolting him from his thoughts.

As he wiped up the spilled coffee, he heard familiar voices bickering from down below. He stood and looked over the edge of the balcony and saw a familiar elderly couple beginning to sit down at a table under an umbrella. The man held a thermos and the woman undoubtedly had bagels and Lox in the bag she was holding. _Mr. and Mrs. Goldberg,_ he smiled,_ it's been a while since I've seen them…but then of course it has, I'm hardly ever here during the day. I'm long overdue for a visit._

Horatio walked out of the building barefooted in his shorts and t-shirt and headed for the couple who were enjoying their coffee while watching people walking by on the beach. As Horatio approached the pair he greeted,

"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Goldberg, nice to see you out."

The elderly man turned to see who spoke, shocked when he saw that it was Horatio.

"Horatio my boy, it's been ages since we've seen you other than on the news. How are you doing?" Motioning with his hand the elderly man said, "Pull that chair over here and sit with us a while."

As Horatio placed the chair next to the man, his wife spoke up,

"It is so good to see you Horatio. You're looking too thin…you need to eat. You know you're welcome at our table anytime. You come and I'll put some weight on you!"

Horatio tucked his head and smiled at her comment, then looked up and tilted his head slightly to the side before answering,

"Thank you Mrs. Goldberg."

"Martha, don't you ever watch the news…Horatio was shot, he's recuperating," her husband sharply reprimanded her.

"That's why you're home, right?" Mr. Goldberg returned his attention to their visitor.

"Yes, for a few days."

The Jewish woman handed Horatio a bagel she'd prepared for him. Even though Horatio was not hungry, he accepted it and thanked her.

"It's just horrible how people behave today. The very idea of shooting a policeman…just preposterous," Martha Goldberg added as she prepared another bagel.

After several minutes of conversation, a friend of Martha's walked up and asked her to walk down near the water to meet her grandchildren who had come to visit. That left Hiram Goldberg and Horatio alone to talk.

Horatio noticed how the elderly man smiled as he watched his wife walk away with her friend.

"How's she doing? The last time we spoke you told me she was not acting like herself."

"She has her good days…bad ones too. Today is a good day." He looked down at his hand nursing his cup and continued as he turned his head and looked up at the redhead,

"Because we fuss at each other, people get the impression we don't get along." He shrugged his shoulders, "It's just our way of communicating. I love her with all my heart and I know the day is coming when she'll leave me; the doctors tell me her Alzheimer's is beginning to progress faster now."

Horatio hung his head and whispered, "I'm so sorry."

Mr. Goldberg smiled as he looked over at Horatio as he asked, "You have a woman, don't you?"

Horatio's head shot up and his mouth opened slightly, ready to deny it, but then closed it as the corner of his lips turned up in a smile, his blue eyes sparkled behind his sunglasses as he thought about Calleigh.

"I saw you down by the water the other night. I was out on our balcony…couldn't sleep. From what I saw perhaps it's serious?" the man inquired with hopefulness clear in his voice.

Horatio turned his head toward the water and watched as Mrs. Goldberg enjoyed visiting with her friend and watching the young children playing in the water. Turning back toward the man he answered with a smile,

"It is. But, she's going to have to change her career for me…and I wonder if I'm worth her doing that."

The elderly man responded, "Don't worry. I won't tell Martha. If I did, half of Miami would know. Did you ever know that Martha held a high-ranking office in a bank when we met?"

Horatio shook his head that he didn't, as his eyes focused on the elderly man.

"She was. When we fell in love, I was president of that same bank. We both knew it wouldn't be kosher with policy, but the heart is not regulated by policies. It's regulated by feelings. She gave up her career for me. Like you I had my doubts, but fifty-five years, three children and ten grandchildren later, neither of us have regrets. I can't imagine how my life would have turned out without her."

Hiram Goldberg's story suddenly gave Horatio courage to carry out what was in his heart.

Horatio stood and politely asked, "Would you please tell your wife how nice it was to see her again and thanks for the bagel. I need to go. There's something I need to do."

The man smiled and assured him that he would.

"Bring her by sometime when you can; we'd love to meet her." Horatio smiled hearing the man's request and assured Hiram that he would.

Hiram Goldberg watched as the lieutenant walked back toward the condo building and smiled as he thought about the young man finally finding a woman he loved.

Thirty minutes later, Horatio, showered and changed into a pair of khaki slacks with a blue shirt and picked up his car keys off of the foyer table. He patted his slacks pocket to make sure he had what he needed. _I know I'm not supposed to drive, but as long as Calleigh doesn't find out…._ With that thought, he locked the door of his condo behind him.

* * *

The day was hectic for the team and Calleigh didn't have time to call Horatio until almost two in the afternoon. Working in his office, perusing and signing paperwork that needed approving, she pressed his speed dial number. Pleased that it sounded as if she woke him, she teased him about the fact and then they talked for several minutes before Frank Tripp came to the door of Horatio's office. Calleigh motioned for the detective to come in and he quietly sat down in the chair in front of the desk.

"Frank just walked in Handsome. I'll talk…"

Frank motioned for her not to hang up and said, "He needs to hear this."

"Horatio, Frank has some news that he wants us both to hear; I'm putting you on speaker phone."

"Horatio," Frank began, "just got word from two of my best snitches out on the street that Ricardo has left Miami."

"_You believe them Francis?"_

"They've been on the mark before. Don't see any reason not to believe them."

Calleigh gave a look of relief and then asked, "Can your snitches find out where he went?"

Frank raised his eyes to meet hers responding, "Already on it." Looking back at the phone on the desk, Frank continued. "By the way Horatio, visitation and services for Fannie Harrison, her son Johnny and Ms. Davenport will be tomorrow afternoon beginning at one at St. John's Mission on Haywood; thought you'd like to know."

There was silence before Horatio responded in a muted tone.

"_Thank you my friend. I will be there." _Changing the subject, Horatio asked,_ "Now what about Alexx and Brian? Do you think it's safe for them to return home and start back in their normal routine?"_

"I think they can go home, but I'm going to suggest to the captain that we keep a limited surveillance on the house and Brian, just to be sure."

"_I agree. I'll be back to the lab Monday; maybe we'll have some information on Ricardo by then."_

Calleigh sighed and frowned as she shook her head at Horatio's comment about returning to work.

* * *

After Frank stepped through the door and greeted Alexx with a kiss on her cheek, he walked into the living room and then slowly turned and faced her.

"We've gotten word that Ricardo skipped town. With that news, Horatio and I both believe that it will be ok for you and Brian to return home."

Alexx quickly hugged herself and turned around to face the windows.

Frank stepped up behind her, puzzled by her response as he said, "Alexx you don't look happy with my news, talk to me. What's bothering you?"

Turning around and then looking up at Frank she answered, "It won't be the same house."

Giving her a perplexed look, he exclaimed, "What are you talking about? I stopped by yesterday and the workmen have finished with the remodeling… your house looks just like it did before."

Shaking her head vigorously in disagreement, she quickly vocalized her thoughts.

"I can't go back there; the shooting…as well as too many memories. My life has changed, I need to change with it," she searched Frank's eyes and then sighed. Frank stepped close and wrapped his arms around her.

"I understand Alexx, but where else can you go?"

"I've been in contact with a close friend who's in the real estate business and she found us a condo to rent by the month until I can find one to purchase. You know, Brian will be going off to college soon and I don't want to be left to bump around in a large old house. I'd like to buy a beach property, a place bright and cheery," her voice became and noticeably more cheerful with the thought.

"What does Brian say about this?"

Alexx smiled, "You know young boys. The beach is a magnet for the girls…so he can't wait to get there."

"I'll go by the house with you and help you gather some more of your things and then drive y'all to the condo." Frank paused as he considered her plans and then said, "You know, this might not be a bad idea for you to change to another address."

* * *

One day that week, Horatio had reluctantly told Calleigh that it would be best for her not to continue to stay with him. He was better and no longer in need of help, besides, her being there would only reinforce IAB's case against them. She couldn't hide her disappointment, but she assured him that she understood, still, there was uncertainty in her eyes and it pulled at his heart when she left that morning.

The first night apart Calleigh was unable to sleep. _I've gotten so used to Horatio being beside me. _She reached out her hand and placed it where he should have been – next to her. She finally worked up the courage to call him, even though it was late. To her surprise, when she reached him, he admitted that he couldn't sleep either and was just about to call her. From that night on, they carried out late night conversations over the phone after their dinner dates or eating in.

One night after they ended their call, he lay there thinking, _Sweetheart if you only knew how hard this is on me. Since I've gotten stronger, it has become increasingly difficult to keep from taking full possession of your beautiful body. The inadvertent touches in the night were causing my self-control to begin to waiver..._ Even thinking about her touch now, triggered a strong physical reaction, but he wanted to wait for the day when she'd become his wife; he had that much respect for her.

* * *

A week later, and after a long day at the lab, Horatio and Calleigh took their usual evening stroll down the beach along the water's edge, arms wrapped around each other. Horatio stopped abruptly and tenderly cupped Calleigh's face before leaning down and capturing her lips in a scorching kiss. Both panting for air after his strong show of affection, Calleigh leaned into him to keep from falling down in a melted heap on the sand. His powerful kiss had taken her completely off-guard, but she loved the spontaneity, something she would have never guessed that he possessed.

"Wow!" she whispered, finally able to speak as her hand slowly travelled over his chest.

Horatio smiled as his hand reached inside his pants pocket before positioning his arms around her again.

"Did you talk with Captain Taylor in SWAT today?"

"Yes. I think it is going to work out just fine. There's an open slot on the day shift, but there are two problems after I transfer, one is that I won't be around you during the day. The second is what I told you a few years ago – I don't look good in all black."

Horatio chuckled as his right hand tightened on the object that it held as he brought that hand around beside her.

His voice was almost a whisper as he answered, "As I recall, I think I responded with, 'I beg to differ'," he paused momentarily before adding, "but I also think you will look good in white."

He stepped back, out of her embrace and then opened the small black velvet box he'd been holding, revealing a glittering diamond teardrop engagement ring, that reflected the warm hues of the setting sun.

Calleigh's eyes focused first on the ring as her mouth gaped open and then up into his questioning blue eyes.

"I know this may be too soon, but I've found I can't live without you. Calleigh will you marry me?" he asked tenderly with his head tilted slightly to the side.

She pulled in a deep steadying breath as a lone tear of happiness traversed slowly down one cheek, she quickly answered, "I will… I love you Horatio."

He then took the ring out of the box and slid it on her finger. When he looked up into her green eyes again, his own tears caused by the all-consuming happiness that he felt, threatened to escape his sparkling blue eyes, as his bottom lip quivered.

"I love you so much Calleigh," those were his last words for a few minutes as their lips joined in a long, passionate kiss. Calleigh knew she had found the one man who understood her.

* * *

It had been a few days since Lobo's sentencing on the initial charges. With Horatio's testimony, the man was sentenced to twenty-five years without parole. It wasn't the outcome that Horatio wanted to hear, but without Ricardo, they couldn't connect Lobo to Johnny Harrison's murder.

Calleigh was due to begin her job as a secondary sharp-shooter with MPD SWAT in just a few days and Horatio had missed her presence immensely around the lab, but relished the fact that he would soon be with her every night. He'd been surprised by her wanting them to marry so quickly. He assumed that she'd want to have a nice ceremony and had prepared to wait, even though it would have been hard, but all she wanted was a casual affair on the beach at his condo, just her father, Alexx and Frank and the team and a few close friends. Her plans suited him very well.

The afternoon found him sitting in his office finishing up paperwork, after a day filled with call-outs, so he could be off for a couple of days for a brief honeymoon. He paused as he sat back in his chair and smiled as his thoughts turned to Calleigh and the fact that this time tomorrow they would be man and wife. His happy thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a sharp knock on his door.

Looking up, Horatio was shocked by who stood in his doorway.

The young Cuban smiled as he entered the office, looking around as if making sure everything was the same.

"ERIC…it's good to see you!" Horatio happily exclaimed as he stood and walked around his desk pulling the young man into a brotherly hug.

"Hey H." After they stepped apart, Eric asked, "How are you doing?"

Horatio looked down at the floor as he shook his head and chuckled before looking back up at the former CSI.

"I'm good Eric. What brings you to Miami? Did LAPD send you here on a case?"

Eric's expression grew pensive.

"Uh no, H, I came on my own. I resigned from LAPD. It just wasn't for me. Things…things are different out there. I thought I could fit in, but…." He hung his head. "I learned that you can't run away from memories. I know now that I belong in Miami. Hey, I heard you have an opening for a fingerprint and trace expert? Have you filled the position?"

"Ah, just so happens that I haven't." Horatio paused, unsure how to approach the subject. "Eric, there's something you ought to know."

"Yeah, I heard. Ryan called me with the news. Congratulations H. You and Calleigh are good together…you know she's loved you for years, don't you?"

Horatio smiled. "Thank you Eric."

"Um, when can you start?"

"Well, let's see," Eric paused for effect, "do you think the department can get my paperwork through for me to start tomorrow?" He grinned at Horatio's obvious relief.

* * *

Frank stood with Horatio as they quietly talked on the beach. After a couple of minutes, he turned his attention to the blue-green ocean for a moment and thought about the many revelations that had occurred over the past few weeks, some good, some bad. As he was lost in thought, the brisk wind whipped his soft, golden red hair back from his face. The cool early evening wind felt good. He could feel it through his light blue t-shirt as it pushed open his white linen jacket, and blew his white linen pants firmly against his legs. The sand felt good to his bare feet. He knew Frank liked this aspect of their wedding, the big man disliked dressy affairs. Horatio had to admit that he too loved Calleigh's ceremony plan – simple and relaxed. Then the music began and he looked up and saw Alexx appear from behind their gathered friends. She wore a knee-length pale yellow sun dress that matched Frank's t-shirt that he wore with a khaki suit.

She smiled radiantly as she approached him and Frank and Horatio glanced over his shoulder, following her eyes, finding Frank grinning back at her in return. _We might be doing this again one day down the road, _Horatio thought smiling.

The music changed to the bridal march and when he searched the opening, Horatio felt his breath leave him as if he'd been punched. Suddenly, Calleigh appeared on the arm of her father and they began to walk toward him. _Calleigh is the most beautiful woman inside and out…._ He had to tell himself to breathe so that he wouldn't pass out. She wore a simple, low-cut, white, knee-length sun dress and she smiled radiantly as she came closer to him carrying a bouquet made of a mixture of pale yellow roses and light blue orchids.

After they finished their vows, and exchanged rings, the minister nodded to Horatio; the redhead's cue to begin.

Horatio started, "Calleigh, I am about to make a feeble attempt to try to convey how I feel."

Calleigh bit her lower lip in anticipation.

"Someone asked me what made me realize that you were the one. I answered that it was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together. I knew it the very first time I touched you. It was like coming home…it was like magic."*

Muffled gasps of admiration could be heard scattered throughout those in attendance at his words.

Horatio's heartfelt declaration made Calleigh's eyes well with tears and she squeezed his hand as she smiled at him. _I wasn't expecting anything like this!_

She cleared her throat, hoping she could speak.

"Horatio… through the years, you have been my friend, and my mentor. Those aspects laid the foundation for what we share today and will forever. You've possessed my heart from the first time you gave me your rare, shy, boyish smile as you tilted your head. Your tenderness, and your respect towards me makes it easy for me to say – I love you."

When the minister said Horatio could kiss his bride, he didn't hold back. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a deep, searing kiss that brought shouts and cheers from the group.

As the sun set, Horatio and Calleigh slowly danced in the sand, wrapped in each other's arms to the soft music and murmured their thoughts and feelings to each other. Their friends watched as they enjoyed a menu of boiled shrimp, potatoes, mushrooms and corn on the cob, washing it all down with ice-cold beer.

After everyone had left, including the caterers, Horatio and Calleigh walked off the elevator to his condo. After unlocking the door, Horatio suddenly swept Calleigh off her feet and into his arms.

"HORATIO…what…are you..."

He smiled at her and said, "I believe it is a requirement that I carry you over the threshold, Ma'am."

Leaning down and kissing her lips tenderly, he walked through the door and then with his foot, pushed the door closed behind them.

***Quote from the movie "Sleepless in Seattle".**

**{The End} Please watch for the sequel to this story, "Below the Radar" coming soon!**


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